BJP leader keeps his President card close to his chest

BJP held a meeting at President Nitin Gadkari's house

The unilateral decision of the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party to announce three names for the President's election has surprised the BJP.

The principal Opposition party is keeping its cards close to its chest and will wait for the Congress to officially declare its candidate.

At its core committee meeting held at party president Nitin Gadkari's home, senior leaders discussed the three names - APJ Abdul Kalam, Manmohan Singh and Somnath Chatterjee - announced by SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee.

Senior leader Ananth Kumar told reporters later: 'The Congress should respond first. We will then call a meeting of the NDA and take a call on the issue. We discussed everything that has been going on, whatever the Congress has been saying or its allies have articulated.'

The fast paced events of the day have significantly altered the discussions on candidates for the President's poll. As the Congress does not have the numbers to get its nominee elected, it has to rely on the SP and the Trinamool.

The BJP, which was hoping to exploit the differences between the SP and the Trinamool on one hand and the Congress on the other hand, will find little space to manoeuvre.

The party wants to force an election to send a message to the people and its allies. Yadav and Mamata's announcement of Kalam's name, whom NDA got elected as President, has left the BJP behind in the first round.

The BJP's cautious approach in articulating its view has frustrated its allies like the Janata Dal- United.

JD-U leaders have already said they will support Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari for President and Vice-President.

Mission Kalam: What happened at meeting with Swamy

A sense of gloom loomed over 30 Prithviraj Road - the residence of L.K. Advani - at a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance 10 days ago.



Besides Advani, the BJP leaders present were party president Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj and Jaswant Singh.



The Shiromani Akali Dal was represented by Sukhbir Singh Badal and the Shiv Sena by Sanjay Raut.



Subramanian Swarmy, left, and L.K. Advani, right, were at a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance 10 days ago



The other person present in the room, who would go on to play a crucial role in the drama that unfolded in the days to come, was none other than Subramanian Swamy.



Swamy was instructed to explore the possibility of bringing APJ Abdul Kalam on board to be a presidential candidate. Kalam's credentials left no doubt in the minds of all those present that there could be no candidate better than him.

A scientist who is one of the architects of India's nuclear weapons programme, a secular Muslim, a role model for India's youth and above all, a former President with an impeccable record. The very next day, the irrepressible president of the Janata Party rushed to Kalam's house in the Capital. Kalam has been unwilling to throw his hat in the ring unless he is a consensus candidate.



Swamy, however, backed his case with up with charts and statistics and told the former President, 'Don't announce that you will not contest. And please do not pay any heed to the rumours that are doing the rounds'.



'Believe me, you can get 55 per cent of the votes in the electoral college,' he implored. Kalam consented. Mission accomplished. The next day Swamy rushed back to Advani's house to prepare the rest of the game plan for Mission Kalam.



The next step was to reach out to the UPA allies, particularly the Big Two - Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee.

Over a sumptuous lunch in Lucknow, Swamy presented the idea of Kalam as President to Mulayam. Having been Kalam's original backer in 2002, Mulayam needed little convincing. 'I was the defence minister when Kalam was heading the DRDO. I have no doubt he is the right man for the job'. The SP was on board.

On June 11, at the meeting of its parliamentary board, it resolved to back Kalam but kept its decision secret. Take two of the presidential drama: the venue was the same, Advani's residence, as were the dramatis personae.



As if by divine providence, Mulayam called Swamy up at that very moment and said, 'I am convinced. But there is need for more consultation.' Jaswant Singh was deputed to meet Mulayam - a meeting which many interpreted as a pitch for Jaswant's own candidature as vice-president.



But the battle was only half won as the mercurial Mamata was a tougher nut to crack. Swamy worked behind the scenes through a close associate of Mamata to convince her. She was brought on board and then arrived in Delhi, the theatre of the action.



Meanwhile, her finance minister Amit Mitra made parallel demands on the Union government as a red herring. The message that was being sent is that the Trinamool will back the Congress candidate in return for a financial package.



Mamata and Mulayam met on Tuesday and Wednesday, meetings which culminated in the dramatic announcement on Wednesday evening.



But the shock for the UPA is far from over as the DMK is all set to break ranks and back Kalam, a Tamilian. AIADMK boss J. Jayalalithaa will also reportedly back Kalam in a rare moment of unanimity with her Dravidian adversary.



