Kalam bows out of Presidential race; UPA camp relieved

New Delhi, June 22 (UNI) Dr A P J Abdul Kalam today bowed out of the Presidential race, giving a sigh of relief to the UPA leadership whose candidate for the coveted post Mrs Pratibha Patil was all set to file her nomination tomorrow.

However, Mrs Patil got embroiled in a set of controversies with the widow of a Congress leader in Maharashtra alleging that the Presidential nominee's brother had murdered her husband and she had shielded him in the case and a TV channel reporting that a csugar factory she had set up in her home district of Jalgaon had defaulted on a bank loan.

After the desire of Dr Kalam not to contest, the UNPA declared it would not support either the UPA nominee or Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who is likely to contest as a NDA-backed Independent candidate.

An UNPA delegation led by its chairman and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa which called on the President to persuade him to enter the fray, said Dr Kalam, while expressing his inability to contest, said that he was feeling very 'hurt and wounded' because of the statements of ruling UPA and three union ministers.

The UNPA delegation which later went to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to continue yesterday's inconclusive parleys with NDA, conveyed the decision of Dr Kalam.

NDA spokesman Sushma Swaraj told newspersons that the NDA had asked them to extend their support for Mr Shekhawat but said Ms Jayalalitha had told them since they had come directly from the President's House, they would discuss the proposal among themselves before conveying their decision to NDA.

Later at a press conference at Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh's residence, the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said that they would neither be supporting Mrs Patil nor Mr Shekhawat.

Stating that Dr Kalam was the people's choice and not of a few ''scheming politicians'', she came heavily on the Congress and other parties for using ''boorish and churlish'' language against him.

Expressing the Alliance's anguish over the developments which made Dr Kalam reconsider his acceptance of their proposal for go in for a second term, the AIADMK leader said the language and the conduct of some high functionaries in the country was absolutely unbecoming of the offices they held.

The Left leaders today signed Ms Patil's nomination papers.

CPI(M) Parliamentary leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI Floor leader in the Lok Sabha Gurudas Dasgupta, along with other Left leaders -- Mr S Sudhakar Reddy, Mr Ajoy Chakervertty and RSP leader Mr Abani Roy -- signed the documents.

Meanwhile, the Congress immediately rubbished the allegation against Ms Patil, saying it was ''a dirty ploy by the Opposition to mar the prospects of the UPA nominee''.

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