Yechury meets Sonia on new president

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury on Saturday met UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and discussed the possible candidates for the next President.

Informal discussions have been going on between the UPA leaders and the Left partners for the past two weeks during which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has held talks with CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat, his CPI counterpart A B Bardhan and Forward Bloc's Debabrata Biswas, sources said.

Now with the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections over and the composition of the electoral college for the Presidential poll clearer, the UPA-Left combine with support from secular outfits including the BSP, has a clear edge over the rival NDA, they said.

The Left parties would be meeting in the Capital on May 16 to decide their strategy for the Presidential poll.

Talking to reporters after releasing special issues of CPI(M) organs, 'People's Democracy' and 'Lok Lahar', Yechury maintained that his party would work towards having a candidate who would have "impeccable secular credentials, who would uphold the tenets of the Constitution and on whose name the maximum support can be garnered".

Yechury parried questions on names of some Congress leaders taking rounds.

"We are not giving any proposal on any individual, nor have we received any names. We want to support a secular person on whose name maximum support of secular parties can be garnered," the CPI(M) leader said.