‘There Are No Ifs. I Will Win’

Mumbai: Presidential candidate Purno Sangma Tuesday said he was confident of his victory since he had never lost an election in his life.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) legislators in Mumbai, Sangma said: “There are no ifs. I will win. I have never lost an election in my life. My winning margin has always increased.”
Sangma also said that he found the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government to be better than others. “I served as a minister under three prime ministers but found the NDA government under Vajpayee performed very well. No one can deny that,” he said.
Sangma, however, showed his disappointment towards NDA constituent Shiv Sena for backing the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate Pranab Mukherjee. He also appealed to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), another constituent of the UPA, to support him. “I have come here (Mumbai) to appeal to parties, especially the NCP and Bal Thackeray, to support my candidature,” he said, adding, “I have in my own humble ways contributed to the growth of that party (NCP). The least I can expect is support.”
Emphasising that the country has never seen a tribal presidential candidate, Sangma said he could help in several ways if he became the first tribal president.
“The country is facing many problems which are tribal-related, like Maoism and insurgency. I, as a tribal leader of this country, can help the government bring those people into national mainstream,” he said.
Sagma, the presidential candidate of the BJP, BJD, AIADMK and several other parties, had earlier lashed out at UPA presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee, terming him a “failed” finance minister, and at union Law Minister Salman Khurshid, saying he deserved to be sacked for his comments on the government.
Calling Mukherjee as the “failed” finance minister, he said the Rashtrapati Bhavan was being used as a “dumping ground” for him (Mukherjee).
“Raisina Hill is being used as a dumping ground for the failed finance minister,” Sangma told reporters during a visit to Mumbai to meet Bharatiya Janata Party legislators.
He also took potshots at Khurshid’s statements on the government having no direction and said it was completely uncalled for. “How can he say something like that? If I would have been prime minister, then I would have sacked him,” Sangma said.

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