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Even as Team Sangma is making efforts to ensure that UPA presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee's candidature is withdrawn or cancelled, Congress Party has appealed to all political parties to extend support and elect Mukherjee to the highest office of the country. "In respect to the upcoming presidential poll, our party has always held the opinion that all political parties of India and electoral college should consider the current political scenario and immaculate character of Mr. Pranab Mukherjee and cast their votes in his favour," said Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari. Former Lok Sabha speaker and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-backed presidential candidate P.A. Sangma earlier on Thursday said his legal team is going through the returning officer's ruling in the Pranab Mukherjee office of profit case, and added that he would decide the future course of action after consulting his colleagues and supporters. "We have received a certified copy of the ruling late last night. I have gone through it and my legal team will be meeting to study the ruling of the Returning Officer. After the legal committee has studied it, at 4: 30 p.m. the full election campaign committee will meet and decide about the future course of action," said Sangma, who also enjoys the support of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the AIADMK in the race for Raisina Hill. The Election Commission had directed Returning Officer V K Agnihotri to give details of the scrutiny proceedings and the order rejecting Sangma's objection to Mukherjee's candidature to him. Mukherjee, who had earlier denied that the signature on his letter of resignation from the Kolkata-based Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) was 'forged', however, yesterday avoided comment on the issue of him allegedly forging his signature, saying it was left to the former to take any step they wished. "Look, I would not like to comment on these issues. It is for them to do whatever they like," Mukherjee told media in Jaipur. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had also rubbished Sangma's claims that Pranab Mukherjee is still the chairman of the Indian Statistical Institute. "Pranab Mukherjee resigned from the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) on June 20," said Bansal. The presidential elections will be held on July 19. The vote count will take place on July 22. Pratibha Devisingh Patil's term as President ends on July 24.

Congress appeals to all parties to vote for Pranab