Kolkata:
Pranab Mukherjee, the ruling UPA's candidate for President of India, said today that he was ready to talk to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, when she was ready. Ms Banerjee is apparently not ready - a senior leader of her party today all but ruled out supporting his candidacy.
They have the Left excuse. "We are very uncomfortable with sharing any space with the CPM... Sometimes we have to share space as in Assembly... But we find it polluting," Bengal's Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee said. The CPM is one of two Left parties that are supporting Mr Mukherjee, who is in home-ground Kolkata today to campaign. Last year, Ms Banerjee, whose life's work has involved trying to decimate the CPM in Bengal, stormed to power and became West Bengal's first non-Communist chief minister in over three decades.
Pranab Mukherjee said this morning that he would like the Trinamool Congress, which partners the Congress both in the state and at the Centre, to support him, but also that he believed the party had not made up its mind yet. Ms Banerjee has so far not said who she will support in the race for Rashtrapati Bhawan. Pranab Mukherjee put the ball in Ms Banerjee's court, when he said, "I am ready to talk to her as and when she is ready to talk to me. Since my candidature was announced, I have expressed my desire to have the support of the partner of the UPA Trinamool Congress. I understand they have not yet taken their decision. They will take their decision at an appropriate time."
But that overture has not washed with the Trinamool. Neither has Mr Mukherjee's being Bengali; Subrata Mukherjee said support for a Bengali leader was not a consideration. "We should not talk about Bengali sentiment as it is against other regions," he said, and quickly got to the crux of it - that the Trinamool is still angry with Pranab Mukherjee, who as Finance Minister till last week, had not given in to Ms Banerjee's demand that the Centre waive interest on massive loans to West Bengal, for three years. "Anyway, those who are talking about Bengali sentiment are not doing anything about the moratorium the state is burdened with," said Subrata Mukherjee.
That Trinamool-Congress ties are at the brink became more obvious when Ms Banerjee's partyman added, "Let the Congress take a decision to stay with us or not quickly." This in response to Bengal Congress MP Adhir Chaudhury saying recently that his party would decide after the Presidential elections on July 19, whether to stay with the Trinamool or not in Bengal.
The Trinamool is sanguine that in West Bengal, as Subrata Mukherjee said, "We have simple majority here. We don't need them."
Mamata Banerjee is the only UPA ally who has not pledged support for Mr Mukherjee, who reportedly said at a meeting of Left MPs and MLAs this morning that he would write to allies who are sitting on the fence to seek their support. But he evaded answering a direct question from reporters on that, confirming though that the two leaders were not meeting during his Kolkata visit.
Ms Banerjee, who is not known to share the best personal equation with Pranab Mukherjee, has steadfastly opposed his candidacy. A few weeks ago, she drew startled gasps when she embarrassed partner Congress by going public with a list of three names she proposed could be ideal candidates for President. Pranab Mukherjee was not on that list, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was.
Ms Banerjee was supported at the time by the Samajwadi Party's Mulayam Singh Yadav, who then withdrew from that bit of political drama and duly voiced support for Pranab Mukherjee. Ms Banerjee refused to capitulate, tried to prop former President APJ Abdul Kalam for President and then left for Kolkata in a huff.
She has not spoken on the matter since but relations between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, already strained, have been at break point since.
Pranab Mukherjee's opponent, Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma - who is backed by the BJP-led NDA, without the Janata Dal (United), the AIADMK and the BJD - has already met Ms Banerjee and said he hopes to get her support.
They have the Left excuse. "We are very uncomfortable with sharing any space with the CPM... Sometimes we have to share space as in Assembly... But we find it polluting," Bengal's Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee said. The CPM is one of two Left parties that are supporting Mr Mukherjee, who is in home-ground Kolkata today to campaign. Last year, Ms Banerjee, whose life's work has involved trying to decimate the CPM in Bengal, stormed to power and became West Bengal's first non-Communist chief minister in over three decades.
Pranab Mukherjee said this morning that he would like the Trinamool Congress, which partners the Congress both in the state and at the Centre, to support him, but also that he believed the party had not made up its mind yet. Ms Banerjee has so far not said who she will support in the race for Rashtrapati Bhawan. Pranab Mukherjee put the ball in Ms Banerjee's court, when he said, "I am ready to talk to her as and when she is ready to talk to me. Since my candidature was announced, I have expressed my desire to have the support of the partner of the UPA Trinamool Congress. I understand they have not yet taken their decision. They will take their decision at an appropriate time."
But that overture has not washed with the Trinamool. Neither has Mr Mukherjee's being Bengali; Subrata Mukherjee said support for a Bengali leader was not a consideration. "We should not talk about Bengali sentiment as it is against other regions," he said, and quickly got to the crux of it - that the Trinamool is still angry with Pranab Mukherjee, who as Finance Minister till last week, had not given in to Ms Banerjee's demand that the Centre waive interest on massive loans to West Bengal, for three years. "Anyway, those who are talking about Bengali sentiment are not doing anything about the moratorium the state is burdened with," said Subrata Mukherjee.
That Trinamool-Congress ties are at the brink became more obvious when Ms Banerjee's partyman added, "Let the Congress take a decision to stay with us or not quickly." This in response to Bengal Congress MP Adhir Chaudhury saying recently that his party would decide after the Presidential elections on July 19, whether to stay with the Trinamool or not in Bengal.
The Trinamool is sanguine that in West Bengal, as Subrata Mukherjee said, "We have simple majority here. We don't need them."
Mamata Banerjee is the only UPA ally who has not pledged support for Mr Mukherjee, who reportedly said at a meeting of Left MPs and MLAs this morning that he would write to allies who are sitting on the fence to seek their support. But he evaded answering a direct question from reporters on that, confirming though that the two leaders were not meeting during his Kolkata visit.
Ms Banerjee, who is not known to share the best personal equation with Pranab Mukherjee, has steadfastly opposed his candidacy. A few weeks ago, she drew startled gasps when she embarrassed partner Congress by going public with a list of three names she proposed could be ideal candidates for President. Pranab Mukherjee was not on that list, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was.
Ms Banerjee was supported at the time by the Samajwadi Party's Mulayam Singh Yadav, who then withdrew from that bit of political drama and duly voiced support for Pranab Mukherjee. Ms Banerjee refused to capitulate, tried to prop former President APJ Abdul Kalam for President and then left for Kolkata in a huff.
She has not spoken on the matter since but relations between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, already strained, have been at break point since.
Pranab Mukherjee's opponent, Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma - who is backed by the BJP-led NDA, without the Janata Dal (United), the AIADMK and the BJD - has already met Ms Banerjee and said he hopes to get her support.
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