With West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee repeatedly changing her stance, the Congress is exploring the possibility of isolating the Trinamul chief on the UPA’s preside-ntial candidate. The Sam-ajwadi Party, Bahujan Sa-maj Party and the DMK appear likely to back the Congress’ presidential choice.
Congress managers are closely watching moves by former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma to garner support from the BJP and the Left. The BJD and the AIADMK have declared support for him. The former Speaker said Monday he would “not back out from the race”, and plans to meet Ms Banerjee soon seeking support. He also met CPI leader D. Raja on Monday.
Samajwadi chief Mulay-am Singh Yadav made it clear Monday his party was disinclined to support Mr Sangma, who has not even got the support of his own party, the NCP. SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said earlier the SP “will not support any candidate being propped up directly or indirectly by the NDA”.
Ms Banerjee, meanwhile, again took a U-turn on the possible candidature of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, and was non-committal on whether she would support it. She threw in the names of Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi as well as former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as possibles. “I will be happy to see Meira Kumar, Gopal Gandhi or even Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as President,” she told a television channel. “If you ask about my party’s choice, or my personal choice, I’ll say I love Meira Kumar. She’s a soft-spoken lady from a Scheduled Caste background.”
Sources said Ms Banerjee was unhappy with Mr Mukherjee for refusing to accept her demand for a special package for West Bengal and a debt moratorium. Her stance on Mr Mukherjee’s name could, however, bring the Left closer to the Congress.
Ms Banerjee is understood to have sent a wishlist of her choices before Congress president Sonia Gandhi undertakes a formal exercise. Asked in the TV programme about Mr Mukherjee, she was evasive: “He is finance minister. I am serious and sincere about him, but the Congress has to decide. I cannot interfere.” Does she consider him a “son of Bengal”? Ms Banerjee qui-pped: “He may be a son of the world... I don’t know.”