Chief minister Nitish Kumar receives former President APJ Abdul Kalam at 1 Aney Marg. Telegraph picture

Patna, June 15: The luncheon was spread out for the man who Mamata Banerjee wants in Rashtrapati Bhavan, but at the end of the meal, the name everyone was chewing on was that of Pranab Mukherjee.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar was the perfect host as he welcomed former President APJ Abdul Kalam to his 1 Aney Marg home in the afternoon, when the political temperature in the country’s capital was boiling over.

But as the two munched on the simple meal of vegetables, ladies fingers fried in pure mustard oil, raita, daal, roti and chutney, it became clear that Mukherjee was headed for the house on Raisina Hill that Kalam once occupied.

“By the time we gathered for the lunch everything was over. It was crystal clear that Pranabda was going to be the next President,” said an official who attended the lunch. “Pranabda was on everyone’s lips.”

Until then, the political scenario had been hazy. Leaders cutting across the political spectrum were wondering whether Kalam would throw his hat into the ring since Mamata Banerjee, Bengal’s mercurial chief minister who was finding herself increasingly isolated, remained adamant on his candidature.

The former President, however, was non-committal.

Replying to queries from reporters at Bihta on the sidelines of a function at the Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, Kalam said: “A lot of people have contacted me asking me to serve as President. I will take the right decision at an appropriate time.”

However, by the time Kalam reached 1 Aney Marg around 2.15pm, the haze was beginning to lift and it was becoming apparent that the UPA would press ahead with Mukherjee.

With Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav also indicating he would go with the UPA choice, it was becoming apparent that it would be difficult for Mamata to pull through with Kalam.

Nitish, sources privy to what transpired at the luncheon told The Telegraph, gently “counselled” Kalam against joining the race.

“Sir,” the chief minister is believed to have told the former President, “we have the highest regard for you and we will continue to have it, for you have all along encouraged us and played a vital role in building our confidence to work for Bihar and its people. But the presidential issue is almost over with Pranabda emerging as a clear winner. There is hardly room for anyone else now.”

The sources said Kalam “heard out” Nitish but did not give a clear answer, only nodding to the “advice”. The sources also revealed that the Bihar chief minister, endowed with the knack to build relationships across party lines, had been “counselling” JD(U) MPs and legislators too to “support Pranabda”.

“I have all along been saying that the President — the highest post in India — must be elected by consensus. You should all work out ways to gather consensus around Pranabda, by all accounts the most deserving candidate,” Nitish was believed to have told his senior party colleagues.

JD(U) leaders said while Nitish’s “respect” for Kalam is very much intact, his choice for President is now “Pranab Mukherjee”.

The chief minister, who shares a good rapport with Kalam, sought the former President’s support in the government’s efforts to set up an attractive science city in Patna. Kalam is understood to have agreed to offer his expertise and advice.

The sources said Kalam discussed in detail about the science cities that had come up at Jalandhar and Gandhinagar. “Kalam has played a key role in setting up the two science cities and happily assured Nitish help to set up a facility in Patna,” said an official who attended the lunch.

Among those who attended the lunch were education minister P.K. Shahi, chief secretary Navin Kumar, development commissioner AK Sinha and director-general of police Abhayanand besides the secretaries in the chief minister’s office, S. Siddhartha and Chanchal Kumar.