Karan may emerge as dark horse

Though the Congress Working Committee (CWC) today authorised party chief Sonia Gandhi to hand-pick a nominee for the forthcoming Presidential elections, the party now seems to be veering around Dr Karan Singh, scion of Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.

Singh's royal lineage comes in the way of his elevation to the Presidential post as the Left parties had indicated their unwillingness to support a 'maharaja' when the Congress first proposed his name.

However, party sources say that Singh had been talking to Left leaders, trying to convince them of his "socialist background and incidence of birth".

"If Singh is able to make the Left parties accept his name, obviously he will be the party's first choice," a senior CWC member told Business Standard.

Other names being considered seriously within the party are that of Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Dalit leader, power minister and the runner-up in the last vice-presidential poll, Sushil Kumar Shinde.

As party general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi told mediapersons after the CWC meeting today, the "consent of the allies would be taken into consideration while selecting a candidate." It is possible that as a Dalit leader, Shinde's is a name Mayawati might find hard to reject.

Besides the BSP's crucial support, the Congress has also to take into consideration the opinion of DMK in the nomination of the UPA's candidate.

Pranab Mukherjee's candidature has been ruled out by the brass as he appears to be indispensable for the Congress at the moment.

Party sources, however, say that with the approaching date for nomination of the candidate for the Presidential election, the names of Balram Jhakhar and G Venkataswamy, two senior party leaders, are also being discussed within the Congress circles.