New Delhi: Making its intentions clear in backing its presidential candidate PA Sangma all the way, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will put up a show of strength tomorrow when the former Lok Sabha Speaker files his nomination.
High-profile BJP leaders, which includes Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, are likely to be present during Mr Sangma's nomination.
Punjab Chief Minister and Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal, Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) head Naveen Patnaik, Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy along with senior leaders from Jayalalithaa's AIADMK are also expected at the occasion.
Mr Sangma will be contesting against Congress-led UPA's candidate Pranab Mukherjee, who quit as the country's Finance Minister on Tuesday. Mr Mukherjee will also file his nomination tomorrow. Mr Mukherjee is expected to file four sets of nomination papers signed by top UPA leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
With NDA allies like JD(U) and Shiv Sena supporting the former Finance Minister, the odds are heavily stacked against Mr Sangma with over 56 per cent of the electoral favouring Mr Mukherjee.
However, Mr Sangma, who recently quit the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to enter the fray for the President's post, is making an all-out effort to improve his chances. He met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday to solicit the support of Trinamool Congress (TMC). However, Trinamool is non-committal on the issue and there are indications that it may abstain. Mr Sangma on Monday had travelled to Hyderabad to garner the support of Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSR Congress, which had swept the recent by-polls in the state. Though Mr Sangma was unable to meet Mr Reddy, who is in jail in a corruption case, he met the YSR Congress chief's mother Vijayamma.
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