President poll: Pranab dismisses speculations

New Delhi: As the race to the Rashtrapati Bhawan hots up, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has shot down reports of him being in the contention. He has termed the reports as speculations.

"Those are speculating things (on his name for president post). I don't make any comment on that," said the veteran Congress troubleshooter when asked about his prospects for being the next President.

This comes even as UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has said that the government has not yet finalised any name for the post.

Meanwhile, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has said that the government has not yet finalised any name for the post.

Meanwhile, perhaps with a quid pro quo in mind, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday to discuss presidential candidates and also a financial bailout package for her state.

On Thursday evening, she met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

All eyes are now on whether the Prime Minister can assure her a loan waiver for the state.

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