Even as the ruling Trinamool Congress leaders congratulated Mamata Banerjee for taking the “lead role” in uniting the Opposition parties in the presidential elections the Bengal Chief Minister was on Tuesday all praise for the TMC vice-president Yashwant Sinha who would be the combined Opposition face in the race for the Raisina Hills.
Congratulating Sinha a former Union Minister in the AB Vajpayee Government the Chief Minister wrote “I would like to congratulate Shri … Yashwant Sinha on becoming the consensus candidate, supported by all progressive opposition parties, for the upcoming Presidential Election. A man of great honour and acumen, who would surely uphold the values that represent our great nation.”
Her nephew and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee who represented the TMC in Tuesday’s all-party meeting in Delhi also congratulated Sinha saying the former Union Minister was the most appropriate candidate and that he firmly believed that “for all progressive parties who share the same vision for our nation, there could not have been a better choice!”
Sinha was the third option put forward by the Bengal Chief Minister in an all party meeting called by her earlier this month. While NCP chief Sharad Pawar turned down the offer to contest in the presidential polls as the first choice former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah too opted out of the race.
In Bengal the TMC leaders interpreted the Tuesday’s development as “Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s first big success in the central politics,” adding Sinha’s victory in the presidential elections would pave the way for Banerjee in playing bigger role in New Delhi in 2024.
Though all leaders would prefer to remain anonymous a senior TMC minister said, “2022 is the beginning and 2024 will be the end when Mamata Banerjee will be called upon to play a very big role in Delhi much like Sinha ji… If he wins it is half the work done.” On what he meant by the phrase “half the work” he would refuse to comment further.
Bengal Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari however, said Sinha’s nomination was a big mistake for the Opposition as “he will face a humiliating defeat … even the TMC MLAs will vote against him … I will appeal to all concerned to cut across the party lines to vote for the NDA candidate against an incompetent candidate being put up by the so-called Opposition parties.”