Click to play videoNew Delhi: The race for President's post has almost entered the last lap. The Congress is trying to convince its allies on its choice for the post: Shivraj Patil. The BJP however is keeping its plans a secret.
Meanwhile, the two warlords of Tamil Nadu now hold the key to Rashtrapati Bhawan.
On one hand, the DMK is sure to support the Congress party candidate, but at the same time it doesn't want to get involved in case there is a Congress-Left face off.
Then there is AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, who now claims that all options before her and the so called Third Front are open and that she might not be averse to supporting an independent candidate.
The BJP led NDA is going all out to get the Third Front on its side and is hopeful that a decision will be arrived at in the near future.
"The NDA will meet on June 18, to decide on a suitable candidate for the Presidential polls," BJP President Rajnath Singh said.
The Congress is likely to tell the Left that Shivraj Patil is it's first choice, but the formal discussions on UPA's presidential candidate will begin only on Thursday.
If all speak out against Shivraj Patil, only then two names - that of Karan Singh and Arjun Singh - will be thrown up, names that have till now been kept as backups.
The battle for presidency is turning out to be a war of nerves within the UPA allies themselves.
The man who is closely watching the situation is Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who believes that the greater the tension within the UPA, the better his chances of making it to the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
(With inputs from Shiv Pujan Jha in New Delhi)
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