NEW DELHI, March 20: Amid indications that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could veer around to a consensus on Lok Sabha Speaker's election, former Speaker PA Sangma today called on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to lobby for his candidature.Sources said Vajpayee apparently told Sangma that ``he had no personal objections to Sangma's candidature but that his party had to take a stand on this in principle''.
Meanwhile, Congress leaders told The Indian Express that Sangma was the front-runner. Later in the day, BJP vice-president Madan Lal Khurana said his party was for a consensus on the issue but on the principle that the ruling combine has the Speaker and the Opposition, Deputy Speaker. He said Vajpayee was in touch with the ``top leadership'' of the Congress on the issue.
Sangma has gone on record saying that he will be a candidate only in case of a consensus. Since then, the Congress and the UF have agreed to back a Congress nominee to the post. The Congress-UF have 263 MPs in the LokSabha at the moment and the ruling BJP combine 264. Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has 12 members but he is yet to indicate which way he will go.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
