BJP leaders claim that many Trinamool MLAs may vote in favor of NDA candidate
BJP leaders claim that many Trinamool MLAs may vote in favor of NDA candidate
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu met BJP MPs in Kolkata on Tuesday. Around 60 BJP MLAs and 16 MPs met Ms. Murmu at a hotel in Kolkata. State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and party’s national vice president Dilip Ghosh were among those who met the NDA’s presidential candidate.
Mr. Ghosh told reporters that all the BJP MPs present assured their support to Ms. Murmu. However, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership kept silence. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stayed in Darjeeling and attended the swearing-in of the newly elected Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) members. The chief minister softened her stand on Ms. Murmu’s candidature, saying that if the BJP had already announced her candidature, it would have reconsidered her stand.
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A section of BJP leaders, including Mr Ghosh, said that considering the TMC president’s statement, many of its MLAs may vote in favor of the NDA candidate.
memory poser
Mr. Ghosh said, “TMC members are in a dilemma as to whom to vote after Ms. Banerjee’s remarks.” Union minister Smriti Irani, who was also in the state, took a dig at the Trinamool Congress and the chief minister over the issue of the presidential election. “The BJP had fielded a tribal woman for the first time for the post of President of India. love of a mother Yes Must clarify whether he is against a tribal candidate who comes from a humble background,” Ms Irani said.
With speculation that some TMC members may vote for the NDA candidate, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said that the Trinamool is a disciplined party and no member will cross-vote. Presidential elections are to be held on 18 July.
Meanwhile, there are reports that opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha may walk away from campaigning in West Bengal. It was Ms Mamata Banerjee who called upon the opposition parties to come together to field a candidate for the presidential election. He visited the national capital and attended a meeting on June 15 where representatives of 17 opposition parties, including the Congress, decided to field a candidate. On June 21, instead of the chief minister, his nephew and party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee attended a meeting of opposition parties on the same issue. There has been speculation over Ms Banerjee’s slackness and many attribute this to the tribal vote in West Bengal.
Earlier in the day, Ms Murmu visited Swami Vivekananda’s ancestral home in north Kolkata.