Presidential poll: Mamata calls on Mulayam

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In a move suggesting that the regional political parties are closing ranks over the President’s election, the Trinamul Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee held parleys with the Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in which they apparently decided to take a joint stand over the issue.

Ms Banerjee is also likely to meet the Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa.
After an hour-long meeting at the SP chief’s residence, Ms Banerjee told reporters that they would meet again and take a joint decision after further consultations. “Whatever we will decide, we will decide jointly,” Ms Banerjee said.

The Trinamul parliamentary leader Sudeep Bandyopadhyay told reporters on Thursday “let the Congress first propose a name for the post of President then we will open our mouth”. Sources said that the Union minister of urban development Kamal Nath in his meeting with Ms Banerjee onWednesday night did not propose any name for the President’s post.

“Mr Kamal Nath was trying to gauge the mind of our leader, which we would not oblige,” said a senior Trinamul leader. However, the Trinamul leaders indicated that the party would favour consensus on the President’s election and would like consultation among all the political parties on the issue. Earlier in the day, the SP chief told reporters that the next President should be a political person.

The SP, sources said, appears inclined towards the name of vice-president Hamid Ansari as the next President.

While Ms Banerjee is likely to meet the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday to press for financial relief for West Bengal, the 15 days deadline, which she had earlier set for the Centre to accept her demands, is coming to and end on Sunday.

However, sources said, that the Trinamul chief is apparently indicating to the Congress leaders, that her demands for financial relief, which include moratorium on interest payments, restructuring of debts and special package, should be accepted if the party was to count on her support for the President’s election. The Trinamul insiders also indicated that Ms Banerjee would be happy if at least two of her three demands were accepted by the Prime Minister.