SHILLONG, June 19 � Union Minister of State for Communication and Technology, Sachin Pilot today hoped that his ministerial colleague Agatha Sangma would extend support to UPA-nominee Pranab Mukherjee as the Presidential candidate.
�We expect that Agatha will support the UPA�s presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee,� Pilot said here.
Agatha, like Pilot, is the new face of the UPA Government and they are two of the younger Ministers in the coalition Government.
Both are scions of political families. Agatha is the daughter of former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma who is running for the President�s post. Pilot is the son of deceased Congress leader Rajesh Pilot.
Agatha is the Union Minister of State for Rural Development from the NCP and has been campaigning for Sangma. This has earned the ire of the NCP which has made up its mind to extend support to Pranab Mukherjee.
�The NCP is part of the UPA and Sharad Pawar assured that his party would support Mukherjee and therefore, there is no scope for any confusion there at all,� Pilot stated.
When asked if PA Sangma should therefore withdraw his candidature in favour of Mukherjee now that the support base for the Union Finance Minister has widened, Pilot said, it is up to the former Lok Sabha Speaker to decide on the issue.
�The decision whether to contest the presidential election is the discretion of PA Sangma. I don�t know what the future will hold, but we would like to see Pranab Mukherjee as the next President,� Pilot said.
