Left favours Pranab opposite Shekhawat

New Delhi, June 3: The Left parties today favoured fielding External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee as the UPA presidential candidate saying he is a very strong and a formidable candidate to take on and defeat Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, most likely to be a non-UPA nominee.

The top leaders of the CPI(M), CPI and Forward Bloc said the other names doing the rounds including those of Mr Sushilkumar Shinde, Shivraj Patil and Dr Karan Singh were in no way comparable to Mr Mukherjee when the Left criteria is applied to elect the new occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

The Left leaders' observation comes close on the heels of UPA's major ally-- DMK chief M Karunanidhi conveying to the Congress leadership that only a formidable candidate put by the alliance could thwart the challenge thrown by Mr Shekhawat and left no choice for the Congress but to field Mr Mukherjee, considered a heavyweight by everyone.

Significantly, CPI(M) patriarch and former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu recently said that his party could not support any candidate sponsored by a ''communal party''. Mr Basu made this remark when Mr Shekhawat called on him in Kolkata and sought his support.

UNI