UNPA might abstain from voting: Jaya

Jayalalithaa says the newly-formed UNPA, comprising non-Congress and non-BJP parties, might abstain from voting in the presidential polls.

The newly-formed United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), comprising non-Congress and non-BJP parties, might abstain from voting in the presidential polls, AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa said.

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"There may be no other alternative for us at this point of time," Jayalalithaa, one of the founding members of the UNPA, told Times Now in an interview.

Ruling out support to the UPA nominee Prathiba Patil and NDA-backed independent Bhairon Singh Shekhawat in the presidential polls, she said UNPA had taken a collective decision that it would not support a candidate backed by the UPA or NDA.

She said President APJ Abdul Kalam told her that he did not want to contest for a second term, when she called him over phone for the first time requesting him to contest.

On her opposition to the candidature of Prathiba Patil, she said, "One cannot be expected to support a woman candidate simply because she is a woman. You cannot expect me to support a woman candidate simply because I am a woman. It all depends on the credentials of the candidates concerned," she said.