Mamata gains by backing Pranab for Prez

Keeping the entire nation and the Congress party on tenterhooks, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, just two days ahead of the Presidential election, decided to support UPA’s choice Pranab Mukherjee. The moot point is, will her gamble pay dividends?

According to a political observer, Mamata by delaying her support to Mukherjee not only exposed the chinks in the Left Front armour but also uncovered the CPM-Congress nexus which will help her in the forthcoming Panchayat polls which her party has decided to contest on its own.

“In fact, the decision to support Mukherjee has not gone down well with CPM rank and file and a leader like Prosenjit Basu, considered close to CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat, even resigned, which led to resentment in JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) and SFI (the students’ wing of  CPM ),” the observer added.

“Support to Pranab Mukherjee has divided the Left Front. When CPM and Forward Bloc decided to support Mukherjee, RSP and CPI, the other two Left Front partners, preferred to abstain - an equation unheard of in recent years,” the observer said.
“Though the party tried to downplay the incident, it is definitely a major crisis for a regimented party like CPM,” the observer said, adding “This is definitely a big gain for the Trinamool supremo,” the observer added.

“We are with UPA and will remain with UPA. There were some differences of opinion as far as the Presidential nominee was concerned. Our leader wanted an apolitical person to occupy the post and so she pressed for Abdul Kalam’s candidature, but that doesn’t mean end of ties with UPA,”a senior TMC leader told Deccan Herald, requesting anonymity. “In coalition politics there will be differences, but that does not mean it will end in a rift among partners,” the leader added.

By supporting the former finance minister, Banerjee has not only showed her political maturity but also regained, at least partially, the confidence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.