CHENNAI: Taking forward the consultation process for the presidential election among the UPA allies, senior Congress leader and Defence Minister A K Antony on Sunday held a discussion with DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi on the ‘consensus choice’, for the post of the 13th head of the Republic.Arriving in Chennai on Sunday morning, Antony headed to the residence of Karunanidhi in CIT Colony and was closeted with him for over an hour. Emerging from the meeting, Antony told reporters that he discussed the ‘present political situation’ with Karunanidhi and declined to get into specifics of the deliberations.“I would convey the DMK leader’s views to Congress President Sonia Gandhi. It was a very fruitful meeting,” he said. Describing Karunanidhi as one of the senior-most leaders in the country, he said the Congress always valued his advice.DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan told Express, “As an important ally, the Congress wanted to enlist our support formally. Antony did not come here to seek support for a particular candidate. It was a preliminary meeting, general in nature. They have not themselves decided the candidate.”DMK sources said there is a view that the party should support a widely-respected Tamil like A P J Abdul Kalam, if he is agreeable for a second term and emerges as a consensus candidate.
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