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Former Lok Sabha speaker and NCP leader P.A. Sangma met Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu here on Monday to seek support for his candidature for the post of President of India. "I have come here to seek the support and blessing of one of the most prominent leaders of India Chandrababu Naidu. We had a long discussion about coming presidential election as well as the political conditions prevailing in the country today," Sangma told media here after the meeting. "He had come back from the campaign of the bye-elections only last night and he had no time to discuss about this issue with his colleagues. Tomorrow is going to be the voting. So, immediately after the voting is over, he will call the meeting of the executive committee of the party and take a formal decision and he will convey to me," he added. When asked whether he would also be meeting West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee to garner support for his candidature, Sangma said: "I have sought an appointment with her." Sangma , who has been campaigning on the ground that the country should have a tribal president, has so far met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Lal Krishna Advani, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Patnaik and Jayalalithaa had on May 17 announced their joint support for Sangma. When asked whether the nation could hope to get a first president from northeast, Sangma earlier said: "Well, it is not only northeast, we had one president earlier Mr. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed had come from northeast. Regionwise, I think we had been there once, but as a community tribal so far nobody has become president." "People belonging to Scheduled Caste, people belonging to Sikh community or Muslim community had already become (president). So, we thought that we should also have a share of it," he added. A fresh round of consultations on the issue of selection of a presidential nominee has begun in the UPA, after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) authorised Sonia Gandhi to decide on the candidates for the coming presidential and vice presidential elections. According to reports, the resolution, authorising her, was moved by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is believed by many to be the front-runner among those vying to be the next President of the country. The dilemma over the nomination of president continues with political parties remaining divided over a suitable candidate's name. Moreover, Mamata Banerjee has so far kept the Congress guessing about whether she will support the party in its choice of candidate for the Presidential election There have been reports that the Congress is reaching out to allies to arrive at a consensus on Vice President Hamid Ansari or Pranab Mukherjee for the coveted post. President Pratibha Devisingh Patil's term ends on July 25 this year.

Race to Raisina Hill: Sangma meets Chandrababu Naidu, to meet Mamata next