Prez poll:Jyoti Basu welcomes Pratibha Patil's candidature

Kolkata, June 15 (UNI) Welcoming the candidature of Rajasthan Governor Pratibha Patil for the Presidential election, veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu today described her as an 'excellent' nominee for the highest Constitutional post.

''Excellent. It is a very good decision,'' he told reporters after attending the CPI(M)'s state secretariat meeting when asked to comment on Ms Pratibha's name being proposed by the Congress to garner support of Left parties and UPA allies.

After a tussle with the Left allies over the possible candidature of Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Congress President Sonia Gandhi sprang a surprise yesterday to make possible a consensus by proposing the name of Patil as the UPA-Left nominee contending against BJP- backed Independent aspirant Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

That the surprise nomination check-mated the Left parties in falling in line with the Congress was admitted by Mr Basu.

''We could never think of it,'' he said.

UNI