A day after the Left indicated its willingness to back External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee for the Presidential elections, the CPM on Thursday openly backed the veteran Congress leader even though the Sonia Gandhi-led party refused to open its cards.
“If the Congress and the UPA put up Pranab Mukherjee, we said we will support him,” CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said here.
The Left’s open backing of a possible candidature of Mukherjee is being seen by sections within the Congress quarters as an indirect signal of its opposition to having Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde as the ruling coalition’s candidate.
On Wednesday, after a meeting, the four Left parties had articulated the broad criteria for a prospective candidate for the election. While they had refrained from taking any names formally, indications were that they would not be averse to backing Mukherjee’s candidature if the Congress put him up as the UPA candidate.
While the Congress on Thursday refused to play ball with the Left, sources in the party said the Left move could have some bearing on the process to decide on the UPA candidate now.
The sources said CPM general secretary Prakash Karat had already conveyed to the UPA leadership that the Left would be ready to back Mukherjee. However, AICC spokesman Abhishek Singhvi refused to comment on the Left view, saying, “We are exploring possibilities and discussing with all parties. We will be able to give a clear picture in a day or two.”
“The party will first discuss the issue within the UPA and then consult the Left parties,” he said.