Pranab in UP Tuesday to canvass for presidential poll

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee will be in the Uttar Pradesh capital Tuesday to meet legislators across parties and garner support for his election to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Uttar Pradesh’s Congress unit met late Sunday to coordinate the visit, party leaders said.

The former finance minister is likely to first meet Congress legislators. He will also meet legislators of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi has formed a committee to oversee the daylong visit.

Mukherjee will call on SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has lent support after Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to back him.

There is no confirmation on whether Mukherjee will formally meet Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Lucknow will be Mukherjee’s third stop after Chennai and Hyderabad. He is scouting for support for the July 19 presidential election, in which he is pitted against P.A. Sangma, who is supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Biju Janata Dal, Shiromani Akali Dali and AIADMK.

Both major players in Uttar Pradesh – the SP and the BSP are supporting Mukherjee’s candidature.