Prez poll: Pranab calls Jagan's mother for support

Despite an uneasy relationship between Congress and YS Jaganmohan Reddy, Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee has reached out to the mother of the rebel leader seeking her party's support in the election but no commitment has been given.

Despite an uneasy relationship between Congress and YS Jaganmohan Reddy, Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee has reached out to the mother of the rebel leader seeking her party's support in the election but no commitment has been given.

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Mukherjee, the ruling UPA's nominee, spoke to Vijayamma, mother of Jagan as well as honorary president of the fledgling YSR Congress, a few days back requesting that her party support him in the July 19 Presidential election.

"He (Pranab Mukherjee) spoke to me when I was in Vishakapatnam on a tour. He sought our party's support for his Presidential bid. We did not give any commitment to him," Vijayamma said.

However, she said the YSR Congress has not taken any decision on whom to support in the Presidential election as the Opposition-backed candidate PA Sangma has also approached them.

YSR Congress has 17 MLAs in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and 2 MPs in Lok Sabha.

"While Pranab called me, Sangma came home and met me. But we have not yet decided on our stand," she said.

When pressed whether the party would be more inclined to supporting Mukherjee as it would not want to side with BJP, which is backing Sangma, she said: "There is enough time to decide on this."

Congress and YSR Congress share an uneasy relationship after Jagan quit the Congress and floated his own outfit, which is eating into his former party's vote bank.

YSR Congress swept the recent by-elections to 18 Assembly constituencies by bagging 15 seats and winning a Lok Sabha seat.

The YSR Congress aspires to rout the Congress and TDP in the 2014 Assembly elections and establish its government in Andhra Pradesh.