The Hindu/PTI/Divvy Kant Upadhyay

New Delhi, Jun 14: Pratibha Patil, Governor of Rajasthan, today emerged as a surprise UPA frontrunner for the post of President after the Left parties persisted with their opposition to Congress party's first choice Shivraj Patil.

Patil's name began doing the rounds in political circles after the Left parties reportedly maintained that they would not support the Union Home Minister or another Congress leader Dr Karan Singh.

The 72-year-old former Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha and Maharashtra Minister has been Governor of Rajasthan for nearly three years.

Having secured the support of Mayawati's BSP and the DMK, the Congress has been seeking the endorsement of the Left parties for its first choice Shivraj Patil which would have ensured his passage to Rashtrapati Bhavan. But the Left support has proved elusive.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader M Karunanidhi, who met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday, held discussions with the Left leaders this morning in a bid to craft a consensus for a UPA candidate.

However, the Karunanidhi-Left discussions remained inconclusive and they are scheduled to meet later this evening.

Left leaders Prakash Karat (CPI-M), A B Bardhan and D Raja (CPI) held discussions with Karunanidhi for about 30 minutes here.

Karat, CPI(M) General Secretary, said "we exchanged views on the Presidential issue and decided to meet again in the evening."

"The very fact we are meeting again in the evening shows we have not decided on any names," Bardhan told reporters after the meeting.

Asked whether the Congress have suggested three names for the candidature, Bardhan said, "we have not been told".

In a bid to evolve a consensus on the issue, Left leaders are scheduled to meet Singh and Gandhi later in the day.

Meanwhile, a weekly cabinet scheduled today was deferred till tomorrow for holding consultations on the presidential election.

Karunanidhi had last night, after his meeting with Singh and Gandhi, said that two-three names were under discussion for the UPA nominee.

The DMK patriarch had said that he had come here to mediate between Congress and the Left to resolve differences between them. Left have been pitching for External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee for the top post.

The Congress has asked leaders of UPA allies to be available in the capital for consultations till June 17 indicating thereby that the formal announcement of the alliance nominee would be made by that day.  Opposition camp also geared up for a fight with NDA leaders suggesting that the formal announcement of Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat's nomination as an independent candidate would be made on June 18.

Who is Pratibha Patil?