Sangma meets Karat to seek Left's support for Prez bid

Sangma drove to the CPI(M) headquarters where he discussed his plans to contest the Presidential elections in July.

"We came here to talk to the tallest leader of the Left parties to press for the demand of electing a tribal president this time," Sangma told reporters after the meeting.

Sangma said Jayalalithaa and Naveen Patnaik have already spoken to Karat regarding his candidature.

"The Left parties are meeting tomorrow. This issue will be discussed. No final decision is expected tomorrow. But by month-end, Left parties will decide on their stand," he said.

In a coordinated move, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and her Odisha counterpart Navin Patnaik had on May 17 announced their joint support to Sangma.

Jayalalithaa yesterday spoke to BJP leader L K Advani, Samajwadi supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and other non-Congress leaders including Left parties in support of Sangma.