Crucial UNFPA meeting on presidential polls tomorrow

The newly formed United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) will have to take a call on Saturday regarding presidential polls.

With the BJP-led NDA wooing them desperately, the newly formed United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) will have to take a call on Saturday on which way to go in the presidential poll amid projections that the July 19 contest was a cakewalk for the UPA-Left.

HT Image

The UNPA, popularly known as Third Front, has a vote share of over one lakh and the Congress-led UPA is claiming a certain victory for Pratibha Patil over NDA-backed independent Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, even if the Front backs him wholehog.

With AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa arriving in theCapital, the UNPA leaders had preliminary round of talks in which Mulayam Singh Yadav, Amar Singh, Vaiko and Om Prakash Chautala were present.

Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh, who was in Chennai early this week, met the leaders tonight ahead of tomorrow's meeting.

The UNPA leaders have so far been maintaining that they would abstain.

The meeting will be attended by all alliance partners and new entrant to the front, Farooq Abdullah of the National Conference.

The meeting assumes significance as the opposition NDA is toying with the idea of backing a candidate of UNPA for the post of vice president in exchange for its support to Shekhawat.

Last month, the UNPA had campaigned unsuccessfully for a second term for incumbent APJ Abdul Kalam.