UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee will start his campaign for the Presidential polls in Tamil Nadu, DMK chief M Karunanidhi said here on Sunday.
Karunanidhi noted that like his predecessor Pratibha Patil, Mukherjee too would start his campaign here.
On June 30, Mukherjee will meet MPs and MLAs from Tamil Nadu in Chennai, Karunanidhi said and added that arrangements have been made not only to accord a reception for Mukherjee, but also for a feast in his honour. Choosing not to comment on the possibility of the NDA propping up a candidate against Mukherjee for the July 19 Presidential polls, Karunanidhi remarked that the chances of Mukherjee’s victory was “bright.” He also sidestepped questions on the apparent confusion within the Congress and the UPA over the selection of the candidate. Clarifying his earlier comments on former President APJ Abdul Kalam, Karunanidhi said his words were twisted to portray Kalam in a bad light. “Kalam knows what high regard I hold for both him and the office he occupied. I have utmost respect for him,” he said.
IUML vows support
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has extended its support to Mukherjee, the UPA’s Presidential candidate. “All political parties in TN should support Pranab,” IUML state president K M Khader Mohideen said in Virudhunagar on Sunday.