Abdul Kalam not to contest presidential poll 2012
CHENNAI: In an official statement, former President A P J Abdul Kalam has said he will not contest the presidential election 2012 to be held on July 19.
Soon after indicating his decision to back out of the presidential
race, Kalam said, "I have considered the totality of the matter and the
present political situation, and decided not to contest the presidential
election 2012."
In a briefly-worded statement, the former
President of India said, "My dear friends,you are aware of the
developments in the run up to the Presidential election. Though I have
never aspired to serve another term or shown interest in contesting the
election, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and other political parties wanted
me to be their candidate."
Kalam added, "Many, many citizens
have also expressed the same wish. It only reflects their love and
affection for me and the aspiration of the people. I am really
overwhelmed by this support. This being their wish, I respect it. I want
to thank them for the trust they have in me."
Earlier, despite
BJP leader L K Advani trying to persuade him to stand for the
presidential polls, Kalam had indicated his disinclination to contest
for the top constitutional post. Kalam informed Advani that he was not
keen to contest the election, sources told TOI.
Kalam reprtedly
told Advani, "My conscience is not permitting me to contest". Sources
said the former rocket scientist would have contested if there was a
wider consensus on his candidature for the presidential election.
Earlier in the day, Kalam met BJP leader Sudheendra Kulkarni.
Kalam was President of India from 2002-2007. He was fielded as a
presidential candidate by the NDA government led by A B Vajpayee.
One of his most vociferous supporters for the presidential race has
been West Bengal chief minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee.
Apart from pressures from political leaders, members of the public,
intellectual groups and well-wishers have been urging him to stand for
the election through several social networking sites and emails.
The BJP, for now, has evaded questions on this development. "BJP core
group is scheduled to meet at 9pm today at party president Nitin
Gadkari's residence to discuss presidential election," a BJP leader
said.
Meanwhile, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar said he
favoured a consensus on the issue of candidature for which efforts were
on within the Opposition alliance. "There has been free and fair
discussion (in the NDA meeting). We are in favour of consensus (on the
President poll) but how will there be a consensus on the issue unless
NDA itself comes up with a consensus. Efforts are on to build a
consensus and, hence, consultations are continuing in NDA," he told
reporters here.
Accepting that he has a "good relationship"
with Mukherjee, Kumar said, "My relations with P A Sangma (who is also
in the fray) are not bad. In politics, one shares good relations with
all."
No comments:
Post a Comment