APJ Abdul Kalam decides not to contest Presidential poll

New Delhi: Former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam is likely to announce his decision today on whether he will contest the Presidential election. According to sources, the BJP and the Trinamool Congress are urging him to contest. Senior BJP leader Sudheendra Kulkarni met the former president at his home today.

           If Kalam decides to throw in his hat in the ring, he may pose a formidable challenge to Pranab Mukherjee who has emerged as a front runner in the race to Raisina Hill. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish kumar may then have to decide who he will back.

According to sources, the Bihar CM is believed to have also conveyed to the BJP “politely but firmly” that his party favoured “nothing else than consensus” on Pranab.

Compulsions of governance and NDA’s internal politics are said to be steering Nitish. The chief minister has been seeking special category status for Bihar from the Centre. He is also believed to be wary of the rise of Narendra Modi, particularly after the BJP started projecting the Gujarat chief minister as a national leader. Nitish yesterday met Jairam Ramesh in Patna and reminded the Union minister of a letter the chief minister had written to the Prime Minister on the special status.

Consensus eludes NDA

The NDA had met yesterday morning at Advani’s residence deferred its decision. Dal (U) president Sharad Yadav, who is also the coalition’s convener, told reporters that Advani would consult the BJP as well as NDA chief ministers Nitish Kumar and Parkash Singh Badal. “More discussions are required to arrive at the right decision,” said Yadav.

BJP and NDA sources said the political imperative at this juncture was to keep the coalition intact and not give the impression that the NDA was a divided house, “ripe for the UPA to encroach upon”. Sources said a hint of discord would not only enable the Congress to grandstand — especially after the UPA roped in the Samajwadi Party, BSP and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti to back Mukherjee —but also trigger speculation about the durability of the Dal (U)’s long-standing alliance with the BJP.

The absence of the Shiv Sena from yesterday's consultations fed rumours of the NDA working at odds. Sena sources, however, claimed that their representative and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut was “preoccupied” with a scheduled programme of which the BJP was informed in advance. “I will emphasise that the Sena will not do anything contrary to the NDA,” a Sena source said.

Why is Kalam not keen on contesting so far

The former president reportedly does not want to be pushed into a token contest which he was bound to lose and would only make him look power-hungry. "Although Dr Kalam advises youngsters to dream, he is also a realist with his feet rooted to the ground. So he knows which way the presidential wind is blowing now,” said a former professor of Anna University, who had worked with him.

According to Kalam’s close friends, his innate decency in not wanting to hurt Mamata has so far kept him from coming out in public about staying away from the contest.  “When Mulayam backed out suddenly, not only Mamata but even Dr Kalam was shocked. Mamata personally apologised to him for this,” said the Kalam aide. According to another source — the editor of a Tamil daily — Kalam had told him a month ago that in the absence of a consensus, he would not throw his hat in the ring.