Decide on Trinamool alliance after presidential polls: Bengal Congress
July 9th, 2012 - 11:53 pm ICT by IANS
Kolkata, July 9 (IANS) Indicating their desire to end the alliance with the Trinamool Congress, Congress leaders in West Bengal Monday requested the party high command to take a final call on the future of the alliance in the state after the July 19 presidential polls.
“We have told (UPA presidential candidate) Pranabda (Mukherjee) and (party state in charge) Shakeelji (Ahmed) to request the high command to tak ea final call on the future of the alliance in the state after the presidential elections if Trinamool doesn’t support Pranabda’s candidature,” said a Congress legislator on condition ofanonymity.
“We have told them that we don’t want to continue in the alliance as we are being humiliated everyday,” the legislator said.
Congress sources said several legislator and MPs raised their voice against continuation in the alliance as the lawmakers were not ready to take the burden of Trinamool’s “misrule”.
Trinamool chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier snubbed Mukherjee by rooting for former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
The Trinamool, the second largest constituent of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), is yet to take a stand on the presidential election after Kalam declined to contest.
Banerjee has so far opposed Mukherjee’s bid for the top post. She is said to have told her aides that she would decide her stand two or three days before the July 19 vote.
In an indication of a hardening of the Trinamool’s stand, party leader Subrata Mukherjee Sunday said Mukherjee had been a close friend of the Communists through his life.
Mukherjee is pitted against former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma, who has the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party and some National Democratic Alliance constituents besides the AIADMK and Biju Janata Dal.
The electoral arithmetic seems to be favouring Mukherjee with all the UPA constituents except Trinamool rooting for him. The Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India-Marxist, All India Forward Bloc, Janata Dal-United and Shiv Sena, besides several other smaller parties have expressed their support for him.
- Trinamool should support Pranab to save face: Congress - Jul 16, 2012
- Pranab arrives in Kolkata, to meet supporters Monday - Jul 08, 2012
- Am ready to talk to Mamata if she is ready: Pranab - Jul 09, 2012
- Trinamool's votes not needed in presidential poll: Congress - Jul 06, 2012
- Sibal meets Mamata to seek support for Pranab - Jul 05, 2012
- GJM to go with Trinamool on presidential poll - Jun 28, 2012
- Sangma meeets Mamata - Jun 26, 2012
- Pranab will win, says Chidambaram; Sibal meets Mamata (Lead) - Jul 05, 2012
- Sangma meets Mamata; fails to get commitment on support (Lead) - Jun 26, 2012
- Pranab is a friend of Communists: Trinamool - Jul 08, 2012
- Pranab writes to Mamata for support - Jul 15, 2012
- Pranab yet again appeals to Trinamool - Jun 24, 2012
- Trinamool to skip July 18 UPA dinner - Jul 13, 2012
- Presidential poll: Trinamool, CPI-M both losers (West Bengal Newsletter) - Jul 20, 2012
- Pranab will win, claims UPA - Jul 17, 2012
Tags: abdul kalam, aiadmk, bharatiya janata party, candidature, chief minister, congress leaders, final call, kolkata, legislator, Lok Sabha, mamata banerjee, national democratic alliance, party leader, presidential candidate, presidential elections, presidential polls, progressive alliance, Samajwadi Party, trinamool congress, west bengal