Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday flew to Delhi to hold discussions on the Presidential elections. The discussions will be held tomorrow (June 13).
“Sonia Gandhi telephoned me. Discussions will be held on the Presidential poll. We will talk tomorrow evening,” Ms Banerjee told reporters at the State secretariat before she left. Asked if she had any candidate in mind, Ms Banerjee said: “Let me see what they (Congress) say.”
The Trinamool Congress with 19 MPs in the Lok Sabha is the largest ally of the Congress at the Centre (UPA-II) and the party is expected to play a major role in selecting the “consensus” candidate within the UPA for the President's post.
While political circles are abuzz with the Congress pushing hard the candidature of Union Finance Minsiter, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Ms Banerjee refused to speak her mind in public. “It's for the Congress party to decide,” she said.
Ms Banerjee, during an interview to a private channel, had proposed three other names — the former President, Mr A P J Abdul Kalam; former Bengal Governor, Mr Gopal Krishna Gandhi, and the current Lok Sabha Speaker, Ms Meira Kumar.
Asked if her stand on the issue was linked to the State Government's demand for a financial package from the Centre, Ms Banerjee said “No. Don't mix it. It (discussion on financial matters) is a continuous process. It is a separate matter. Both are unrelated.”
abhishek.l@thehindu.co.in