Trinamool to decide on support to Ansari after talks with Mamata
After giving anxious moments to UPA over the Presidential election, Trinamool Congress on Saturday kept the ruling coalition guessing on its support to Hamid Ansari in the Vice Presidential poll saying it would take a decision later.
"As the agenda of this meeting was not known to us, we proposed two names - that of Gopal Krishna Gandhi and Krishna Bose - as candidates for the Vice Presidential election. But as Ansari's name was proposed by the Congress, we said we will take a decision after consulting with our leadership," Railway Minister Mukul Roy told reporters here.
"I will convey today's decision to our party leadership and we will let you know our decision soon," he said in response to questions. He said two parties at the meeting on Saturday had proposed a couple of more names for the Vice President's post but did not elaborate.
Stepping up efforts to drum up support for Ansari for a second tenure, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Mamata Banerjee on Saturday, the second time this week.
On the Presidential poll, Trinamool Congress has maintained silence on whether it would support UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee or abstain and said it would announce its three days ahead of the poll slated for July 19.
Banerjee had earlier said that former West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi and Krishna Bose, former Trinamool Lok Sabha member and niece of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, could be good candidates for the top posts. The party has asked all its MPs and MLAs to be present in Kolkata from July 16 onwards.
If it decides to vote in the Presidential election, all its electors would exercise their franchise in Kolkata. They said the Trinamool Parliamentary Party would meet there on July 17 to decide on the two crucial elections.
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