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. |