NEW DELHI: BJP biggies may have been the first to congratulate Pranab Mukherjee on his then still-rumoured move to Rashtrapati Bhavan, but the Congress decision to nominate him has created enough bitterness in the two camps that it is becoming a free-for-all.

The Congress has eagerly latched on to the Nitish Kumar-Narendra Modi tussle to egg on the Bihar CM to come out of the NDA. “We will definitely welcome if JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar leaves the NDA. He has rightly said that a country with such diverse cultures and beliefs needs a secular person at the top,” AICC in-charge for Bihar Gulchain Singh Charak said.

Asked if he would be taken into the UPA, Charak said it would depend on Kumar accepting the UPA’s common minimum programme.

The comment junked the Congress’s caution on its political rivals on the grounds that it was seeking votes from all sections, possibly out of the realization that the BJP is sure to field its candidate. Charak’s comment contrasted with the party’s silence in the wake of Kumar’s veiled jibe at Modi.

The bitterness appeared to stem from the BJP belying the Congress’s hopes of backing its veteran and instead “poaching” on UPA ally NCP by getting P A Sangma to contest. The Congress seems riled by the BJP deputing Subramanian Swamy as the pointsman to coordinate with allies. He has been attacking party chief Sonia Gandhi.

The AICC could not hide its revulsion on Wednesday when spokesman Rashid Alvi waved off a query by saying, “Subramanian Swamy is irrelevant in Indian politics. I don’t want to stoop so low to comment on him.”

Observers think the contest could degenerate into a free-for-all. While personal attacks as in the last presidential poll is unlikely with Mukherjee in the fray, Congressmen feel the BJP will use the support for Sangma to bolster its grip on “tribals” and play on the northeast factor. A senior Congress leader said Sangma was the “next Najma Heptullah” with a Rajya Sabha nomination waiting for him.

But the Congress is enthused that saffron attempts to use the election to spread its support base has ended up showing chinks in the NDA’s armour with the JD(U) and Shiv Sena breaking rank.

Also, it is reassured that the Trinamool is unlikely to support the BJP candidate despite being at war with the Congress. In fact, TMC’s central minister Sultan Ahmed said Mukherjee was an option for the party while ruling out support for Sangma.

On the contrary, leaders wondered if Mukherjee’s reported phone call to B S Yeddyurappa was an attempt to play on the faultlines in the Karnataka BJP unit. The former CM is at loggerheads with the official BJP faction led by Sadananda Gowda.