Prez poll: Pranab says he doesn't believe in miracles

Hyderabad/Bangalore: “I do not believe in miracles,” UPA Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee remarked today, taking a jibe at his rival P A Sangma who is hoping for a miracle to see him through in the 19 July poll. “I do not believe in miracles. I do not know whether any miracle may happen or not,” Mukherjee, who is expected to comfortably win the Presidential race, told reporters on the second leg of campaign in Hyderabad and Bangalore. Mukherjee was asked about Sangma’s comments that a miracle can happen and being a tribal leader, he will get enough votes to win the election. [caption id=“attachment_363500” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Mukherjee was asked about Sangma’s comments that a miracle can happen and being a tribal leader, he will get enough votes to win the election.PTI”]  [/caption] Even as the Congress is scouting for an able hand to replace Mukherjee to deal with crisis management, both at the Centre and in the party, the veteran leader feels there is no dearth of talent in the party to fill his shoes. Mukherjee has won accolades in dealing with tough situations in the Lok Sabha as Leader of the House, presiding over the key Finance ministry and over two dozen GoMs besides being the trouble-shooter for the Congress in dealing with demanding allies. Asked by a reporter how he would miss politics after being an efficient crisis-manager, Mukherjee said it has been proved in the long history of the Congress that in the face of challenges, the party rises to the occasion. “So, there will be no problem (on the crisis-management front)”, Mukherjee later said in Bangalore at the office of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, where he interacted with members of the electoral college for the Presidential elections. When asked about rising expectations from the President, how the seat has become “hotter” and his expectations, he noted that some of the makers of modern India – parliamentary system, democratic values, culture and institutions –Rajendra Prasad, S Radhakrishnan, Zakir Hussain and 10 other illustrious personalities had occupied the post of the President. “So, I need not be worried if I am elected, for what course of action I shall have to follow”, he observed. PTI