Majority of MPs, MLAs favour second term for Kalam

A majority of MPs and MLAs of different states want President APJ Abdul Kalam to remain in the Rashtrapati Bhawan for a second term.

A majority of MPs and MLAs of different states want President APJ Abdul Kalam to remain in the Rashtrapati Bhawan for a second term, according to a survey conducted by a leading TV news channel.

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The survey conducted jointly by NDTV and Gfk Mode revealed that 59 per cent of the 500 MPs and MLAs interviewed wanted a second term for Kalam while nearly 35 per cent wanted a new President.

About 5.4 per cent felt that it should be a party decision while 2.5 per cent did not give their opinion, according to a NDTV release today.

The NDTV Peoples' Poll based on more than 3,00,000 online votes and SMSes also revealed that 84 per cent respondents wanted Kalam to continue for a second term. The next two front-runners were Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy, who was a favourite with 49.6 per cent respondents, and Amartya Sen (48.3 per cent), it said.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat were backed by 28.7 per cent and 26.3 per cent of the MPs and MLAs respectively.

The others included in the survey were Defence Minister A K Antony (6.2 per cent) and former Union Minister Karan Singh (8.1 per cent), it added.