Jayalalithaa, other UNPA leaders call on Kalam

New Delhi, June 22 (UNI) AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa today led a UNPA delegation to President A P J Abdul Kalam in connection with their efforts to see him in office for a second term.

They arrived at Rashtrapati Bhawan a little before 1630 hrs. The meeting lasted for over an hour.

However, after coming out of the meeting, they did not brief waiting mediapersons about what transpired between them and the President.

Ms Jayalalithaa said, she would address a press conference after their meeting with NDA leaders for which the UNPA leaders drove straight to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee's residence from Rashtrpati Bhawan.

Today was the second meeting of the UNPA leaders with Dr Kalam in three days.

Earlier, the AIADMK supremo flew into the capital this afternoon from Chennai to reinforce the efforts of her alliance partners to muster support for the candidature of Dr Kalam.

The UNPA leaders had yesterday got a clear 'no' from the Left and UPA constituents to the proposal of a second term for the incumbent., They have already held two rounds of talks with NDA leaders and both sides described the outcome as ''positive''.

The UNPA leaders had also called on Dr Kalam on Wednesday but the AIADMK supremo could not join them, as she was unwell.

They had said after the meeting that Dr Kalam agreed to go in for a second term provided there was certainty of winning.

After signals from the President that he was willing to contest, the NDA had said it would take a final decision after talking to Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who had decided to contest as an Independent candidate.

Mr Shekhawat had in turn said he was ready to withdraw in favour of Dr Kalam.

Mustering support for Dr Kalam is an uphill task for them as UPA nominee Ms Pratibha Patil has a clear edge over others, given the count of votes of the parties supporting her.

The Left and the UPA, the BSP and the DMK have also rejected the UNPA proposal.

The Shiv Sena, which had already expressed its happiness over the nomination of a woman from Maharashtra for the highest post, stayed away from the NDA meeting to discuss the proposal for the candidature of Dr Kalam.

UNI