| "Our work begins when you are all at home, asleep," said a Congress leader, indicating that considerable groundwork had to be done to home in on a candidate who would not only be acceptable to the Congress or the UPA but also to "the UPA plus, plus, plus." |
| This 'plus plus," the small non-UPA parties, is what is worrying the Congress. There were a number of parties with whom the negotiations could extend to a host of possible candidates, said a Congress leader. |
| This means a complex give and take, not only for the top two posts "� President and Vice-President "� but also for other posts, including ministerships. Promises will have to be made to secure the support of every political group, no matter how small. The most important factor at this point is ensuring the support of the BSP. Possibly keeping this in mind, a party spokesman said, "Social engineering is a very important factor in this election". |
| The tiny groups include members from the Left parties. The party managers said the Left parties would soon meet to finalise who they would like to see as President. They would convey their view to the Congress, which would then involve itself in the complicated exercise of taking the views of other UPA components like the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Nationalist Congress Party. |
| No names are doing the rounds yet, though the names of those who are unlikely to make it are clear"� President APJ Abdul Kalam is out of the race for good. Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee has been ruled out as he plays a key role in the government's functioning. Other than these, the field is open. |
| Meanwhile, toeing the BJP line, NDA ally JD(U) today favoured a consensus for the presidential post, but asked the UPA to take the initiative in this. "It is for the UPA to evolve a consensus as the Congress-led coalition is in power," said JD(U) President Sharad Yadav. |
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