Bharat ki Rajneeti

After opposing Pranab Mukherjee from quite long time Mamata Banerjee took a pain full decision to support him because there no options available. She said on Tuesday that Trinamool Congress (TMC) officials will vote for United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate Pranab Mukherjee in the presidential election. She said, "We wish we could have taken the decision with a smile. But we don't want our 50,000 votes to be wasted via abstention."

Banerjee wanted A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to route the President’s office, but the former president dragged out of the race. She had suggested Kalam’s name as the presidential candidate jointly with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, but the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister vowed his support for Mukherjee within days of announcing Kalam as the preferred candidate.

The chief minister added, "Given the two choices, " to vote with UPA or BJP and other parties," we had to see whether to vote at all, or who to vote for. So, we will vote for Pranab Mukherjee."

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh said he is 'grateful' to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for supporting the application of Pranab Mukherjee in the upcoming Presidential election.

Replying to questions from reporters, the chief minister said, "We are not supporting him individually. It's a political decision. Also, he is from Bengal. Even if we don'ts support him, he will get the votes. So might as well vote for him. This is the only option where we can apply our voting rights."