Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Lok Sabha speaker P S Sangma on Monday sought the support of Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu for his candidature in the Presidential elections scheduled to be held next month.

Sangma came down all the way to Hyderabad only to meet Naidu at his residence and requested his party’s support for his candidature. The former Lok Sabha speaker is virtually fighting a losing battle in the Presidential elections, as there were not many supporters for him. Even his own party president Sharad Pawar told him that he would support the candidate proposed by the UPA.

Sangma is hopeful of Naidu’s support because the latter is a strong opponent of the UPA. Moreover, Sangma was one leader who had strongly opposed Sonia Gandhi, though Pawar had later compromised with her. So, he expects Naidu would support him. But the TDP president is a tough nut to crack and he would not take any decision that would not benefit him in any way. Who knows he might even support the UPA candidate in the name of consensus hoping for a future understanding with the UPA!