(From left) PA Sangma, APJ Abdul Kalam and Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar, June 18: The BJD, which has stuck steadfastly to P.A. Sangma as its presidential candidate, has found its support for the Meghalaya strongman more than justified in the wake of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s categorical refusal to run for a second term.

While chief minister Naveen Patnaik extolled Sangma describing him as the fittest candidate for the country’s highest office for the umpteenth time, BJD sources said the party was happy about the possibility of a direct contest between the former Lok Sabha Speaker and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, whom the UPA has announced as its candidate.

“We hear that Ram Jethmalani also wants to contest, but now that Kalam is out of the race it will be a straight contest between Sangma and Mukherjee. We hope that other parties, too, back Sangma,” said a senior leader.

The chief minister, on his part, heaped praise on Sangma saying that apart from being a tribal and a member of a minority community, he was also a very distinguished person. “He also comes from the north-eastern part of the country,” said Naveen trying to emphasise that the area, which has long remained neglect, should finally get its due.

Senior BJD leaders said the chief minister should get full credit for backing Sangma, as Naveen was the first to float his name. “Then he was joined by Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa, who campaigned for Sangma along with him. The time has come for others to plump for the NCP leader who would be contesting as the representative of the vast majority of the country’s tribal people,” said a senior leader.

Though Naveen, by all accounts, will stick to Sangma till the end, BJD was watching the developments in Delhi keenly. The party continues to pin its faith on Jayalalithaa, who had extended her AIADMK’s support to the tribal leader. Sources said the party was eager to know what decision the NDA and Bengal chief minister Mamata Bannerjee were going to take now that Kalam had declined to contest.

“Under the circumstances, the best thing for them would be to back Sangma to make it a real contest between him and Mukherjee. Mamata has gained nothing by backing Kalam and should now logically come out in support of Sangma who has been very forthright in seeking the help of all like-minded parties and individuals,” said a leader, adding that the next two days were going to be crucial. “We expect major announcements from the NDA and Mamata,” he added.

BJD sources said that Naveen had spoken to Sangma over phone and praised him for refusing to bend under pressure even though the NCP wanted him to withdraw from the fray. Backing Sangma seems to have become a prestige issue for Naveen as he was the first to moot his name and openly canvass support for him.

In the event of Rashtrapati Bhavan race turning into a one on one contest between Sangma and Mukeherjee, the political stock of Odisha chief minister, who has been harbouring national ambitions for past sometime, would go up significantly.

“The way things are moving a direct contest between the two veterans seems quite possible. That suits the game plan of Naveen,” said a BJD leader.