IANS/Hyderabad
United Progressive Alliance’s presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee yesterday appealed to all parties in Andhra Pradesh to support him.The former finance minister addressed Congress MPs and state legislators and met leaders of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), an ally of the UPA, seeking their support.Mukherjee, however, did not meet leaders of the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).The three parties have not yet announced their stand on the presidential polls.Addressing the Congress legislators at the historic Jubilee Hall, Mukherjee appealed to all voters in the electoral college from Andhra Pradesh to extend their wholehearted support to him.The veteran leader noted that even non-UPA parties were supporting him. “I feel honoured to contest for the high office of the president of India,” he told the meeting.Congress general secretary Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is in charge of party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy recalled Mukherjee’s services.A minor fire broke out at Jubilee Hall shortly after Mukherjee left.MIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi and other party leaders called on Mukherjee at Taj Krishna hotel. The MIM, which has one MP and seven legislators, has already declared its support to the UPA candidate.There was mild tension near the hotel when pro-Telangana supporters staged a protest. Police arrested the workers of Mala Mahanadu, who raised the slogans of “Jai Telangana.”Earlier, a similar protest greeted Mukherjee soon after his arrival at Begumpet airport in the morning. The protesters tried to stop his convoy but the police foiled them.The protesters belonging to various pro-Telangana groups wanted Mukherjee to spell out his stand on the demand for statehood to Telangana.After a four-hour stay in Hyderabad, Mukherjee left for Bangalore in the afternoon to campaign there.