A day after being declared as UPA’s Presidential nominee, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, today indicated that he was not averse to seeking, the West Bengal Chief Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee’s support in his bid for the top Constitutional post.
When he was asked if he will try to enlist support of Ms Mamata Banerjee, on the sidelines of an Assocham event, he said, “Yesterday I gave my reaction that I will seek support of all concerned.”
Ms Banerjee stands isolated in the UPA over Mukherjee’s candidature as she ploughs a lonely furrow, backing former President, Mr A.P.J Abdul Kalam, for the post, though the latter never publicly voiced his readiness to join the contest.
Refusing to tow the official UPA line, Ms Banerjee took it to internet social network site, Facebook, today to seek support for the ‘missile man’, describing him as a proud and distinguished son of India who continues to inspire all Indians.
“In my long political career, spanning over five decades, I have been fortunate to receive love, affection and confidence of my party colleagues and also the members and leaders of all political parties. I am deeply indebted to them. I will now again seek their indulgence and support for the next few weeks”, Mr Mukherjee said yesterday after being officially declared as the UPA candidate.
“We have requested all political parties to lend their support”, he added.