New Delhi, June 09: The race for Rashtrapati Bhawan is wide open. The NDA is understood to have decided on Maharashtra Governor P C Alexander as its candidate. The NDA will announce support to Alexander on Sunday, NDA sources said. Alexander is expected to resign from his post the same day. An indication that consensus is unlikely was available late on Saturday afternoon when the NDA abruptly postponed a meeting to finalise its candidate. Late on Saturday night Prime Minister Vajpayee summoned Chandrababu Naidu for a meeting on Sunday.
The Congress has already made it clear that if the NDA insists on Alexander, it will contest the presidential elections. Congress president Sonia Gandhi held consultations with her party colleagues on Saturday on the party’s strategy. CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury claimed that with the combined opposition commanding more votes than the NDA constituents, the contest was wide open.
CPM sources said regardless of political affiliations, efforts should still be made for a consensus candidate who commands respect across political spectrum "Even a BJP candidate could fit the bill," the sources added.
Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh said, "The NDA is indulging in politics of confrontation. We are prepared for it (contest)."