Alexander himself was a candidate for the job in the last round but got edged out in favour of Kalam because he was perceived to have moved close to the BJP and the NDA. The Congress considered this an act of betrayal on the part of the former bureaucrat, who had been principal secretary to Indira Gandhi. The story is narrated at length in the very first chapter of Alexander's memoirs.
Here is what Alexander has to say about limiting the president to one term:
The convention about the President not being given a second term after Dr Rajendra Prasad’s second term, was not on the ground of suitability or otherwise of the incumbent concerned, but was based on certain principles and practical considerations. The most important among them was that if a second term was available, some incumbent Presidents might misuse their office and its enormous influence over the party in power to secure a second term and this would have diluted the independence and impartiality of the office of President. Unfortunately, in the absence of a Constitutional ban against a second term for the President, political parties have shown no inhibitions in using the prospects of a second term for the incumbent President whenever it suited their interests.In 2002, the Congress was keen on President Narayanan getting a second term as it suited its interests then, but it had strong objection to Dr Kalam getting a second term in 2007 as it did not find it to be in its interests. Similarly, the NDA had serious objection to K.R. Narayanan getting a second term but it was quite willing to offer support to Dr Kalam for a second term now. The contradictory stands taken by the political parties show that they do not attach much importance to the principle behind denial of second term for incumbent Presidents, but they go by what they consider most suitable to their party interests.
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