Days after the combined Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha filed his nomination for the presidential elections —flanked by the likes of Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Akhilesh Yadav Sitaram Yechury — Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday made a sudden turn-around dropping hints of a compromise on the BJP presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu, saying she, too, would have supported her as a consensus candidate had the BJP discussed the issue with her earlier.
Saying that Murmu had a better chance of winning, Banerjee maintained,“Had the BJP informed me in advance” that it was going to field a tribal woman candidate then, I could have thought otherwise and made attempts accordingly… we could have gone for a consensus for a larger national interest.” The Chief Minister who was speaking during an ISKON Rath Yatra programme said that she always had a soft corner for women adding “It would have been better for the nation had there been a unanimous consensus candidate, just as it happened in case of APJ Abdul Kalam. But though the BJP sought my opinion on the issue of Presidential poll, it did not tell me anything about its choice.”
Hinting at a chance of compromise if the BJP leadership approached her Banerjee said she personally was comfortable with Murmu adding that the decision on this count had to be a collective one.
“I cannot take any decision alone now, since the decision about the unanimous opposition candidate was taken together by 17 parties. Unless the others agree, I alone cannot decide anything,” she said adding her interest was to provide the nation a good impartial candidate.
BJP's national vice-president and party MP Dilip Ghosh said that this changed stance of Banerjee is because of the realisation that Yashwant Sinha will be defeated by a huge margin. "She is now claiming that had the BJP informed her in advance, she could have given a positive consideration on Murmu's nomination. Then why was she in a hurry to field a unanimous opposition candidate before the NDA announced its nominee? She could have waited till the time Draupadi Murmu's name was announced," Ghosh said. Soon after her remarks the opposition partition parties slammed the Chief Minister questioning her sincerity about an opposition unity.
“Win or no-win … the Opposition parties had given a candidate, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Chowdhury said adding “she has made atimely somersault otherwise she knows that she is in problem … itseems that she has been under pressure from the BJP … she has nowrealised that she has gone too far on the presidential issue … the BJP leadership angry … so she is trying to make a balancing act … by keeping both the sides in good humour.”
CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakrabarty said that the Chief Minister had fear of central Agencies and so she was changing her stance. “she has to protect her family members from the CBI and the ED who have been regularly knocking their doors in relation to a number of scams ... if she does not ditch the opposition then her own family will be in ditch … this is the reason why she is keeping Narendra Modi
pleased … it is now very clear that there is an understanding between the TMC and the BJP which we have been telling for years … Mamata Banerjee is the captain of BJP’s B team.” BJP leader Dilip Ghosh said that the Chief Minister had realised that she was no match for the BJP which was why she was trying to save her face. Another State Congress leader said that Mamata Banerjee had always “that habit of betraying people … now it is the turn of Yashwant Sinha ji … At least he deserved full support from his backers.” Sinha a former Union Minister in AB Vajpayee Government had joined the TMC recently as its national vice president.