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Sunday, May 27, 2007
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CPI(M) to explore all options to select suitable Presidential candidate

Special Correspondent

The party has held consultations both within UPA and outside

NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) will explore all options to select the most suitable candidate for President in consultation with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and other parties.

"The Left parties have set out the criteria that the person occupying the post of President must have a political background and firm secular credentials. The future President must be able to exercise judgement to maintain a balance between [the] Parliament, [the] executive and the judiciary," party general secretary Prakash Karat said at a press conference here on Saturday, at the end of CPI (M)'s two-day Polit Bureau meeting.

He said the party had held consultations both within the UPA and outside as also with the Congress party. A state, he said, still has to be reached where the Left parties could say "we have identified... we are getting there." Mr. Karat said the candidate should have the widest acceptance.

Asked about Speaker Somnath Chatterjee being the possible candidate, Mr. Karat said it all depended on whom all parties considered the best candidate.

To another question whether the name of External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was no longer a favourite or whether the party would rule out Mr. Chatterjee, Mr Karat said: "as far as we are concerned nobody is ruled in and nobody is ruled out. Everybody is discussing possible the candidate. In any case, Mr. Karat said he did not want to embarrass anyone by taking names and said many names were doing rounds (in the media) including some new ones.

The CPI (M) leader said he was not aware of any demand made by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam staking a claim on the post of Vice-President. Mr. Karat said he would meet Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi when the latter reaches Delhi next week.

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