India presidential elections: Mamata’s Ekla Chalo Re leaves her high and dry

June 15, 2012 | Filed under: National | Posted by:

By NVONews.Com Political Correspondent,

India presidential elections can go both way. Or so it seems. So far the latest development is concerned the Trinamool Congress president and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee seems to be an isolated person. She is neither with the UPA nor with the NDA nor with any state leader too on the issue of the presidential election.

Though several regional satraps like Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav tried to seek their own pound of flesh and kept the Congress at tenterhook till the last moment Mamata went on to make the battle with the Union finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee, a personal one. Thus, she appears to be losing the race.

What is strange is that even the arch-rival of the Congress in West Bengal, the Left Front, is not averse to the candidature of Pranab Mukherjee. Perhaps they played the card of regional sentiment better than Mamata and found it the best way to leave her high and dry.

The Samajwadi Party, after the initial reservations, has made it clear that it has no problem with the candidature of Pranab Mukherjee. Even the Bahujan Samaj Party, which is opposed to both the Congress and Samajwadi Party, has no such problem.

Never since 1969 when V V Giri became the President the election was so much marred by controversy. Then it was the intra-Congress rivalry, which led to the defeat of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, who was the official Congress candidate and supported by the party stalwarts. However, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi backed V V Giri, a renowned trade union leader, and asked the members to vote on their conscience. This subsequently led to the split of the Indian National Congress. Leaders like Morarji Desai went on to form Congress (Organization).

Forty-three years later the situation is somewhat different. There is no differences within the Congress. But is is in minority and badly needs support of the regional and smaller parties to install its man as the President.

What is strange in India today is that once again it is not the election of the Prime Minister but that of the President which is becoming a subject of controversy. However, the target is the post of Prime Minister too as initially, even Mulayam Singh Yadav, wanted Manmohan Singh to be named as the presidential candidate.

So if Pranab is removed from the post of finance minister and elevated as the President of the country Manmohan Singh would certainly take a sigh of relief. Not only will he run the finance ministry on his own way he would, in a way, get rid of a man, who always used to pose a challenge before him.

If Congress manages to win support of other parties and succeed in installing Pranab to Rashtrapati Bhawan what will Mamata do now?

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Posted by on June 15, 2012. Filed under National. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
  • Subrata Som

    Pranab Mukherjee is the best candidate for the post of President of India.
    Throughout his long political career, he has served the party with utmost wisdom, acumen and sincerety.
    For decades, held the number 2 position.
    Richly deserves the highest position.
    We wish him the very best

  • nirmal chakroborty

    we all bengali are very proud for pranab mukherjkee as a presidene of india.god blease him.

  • s d sinha

    ha ha pranab becomes the next president without winning a single election.this shows that in politics buttering is how to do the batting or best say battering.we should be proud?why ?a bengali(????)?bengali president or indian president?worst person to be on the throne….thats all

  • pradip sen chowdhury

    Only national political leader Pranab mukherjee best candidate for President.bengal proud for you

  • anshul

    Its not about being a bengali ,its about the future of our nation :-

    if someone supports pranab , can they quote some of his acheievement or work for which he is being chosen.

    its a game of power.

  • abdul kafoor

    kalam is the best candidate dont see region and religion

  • RANAJIT KUMARR BISWAS

    SD Sinha should know that Pranab Mukherjee is an elected member of the present LOK SABHA from West Bengal. Someone may not like some acts of a person. But one should not distort or suppress facts to malign one’s non favourite person.

  • http://www.melozonageorge.org george melozona

    Shri A.P.J. Abdul kalam the past president of our nation has really served for the nation for five years without expecting anything from anybody.It is indeed a great gift for our nation.He can be brought back to the post of president for the second time.He is a person who really fit for the post

  • P. Das

    Mamata is doing just like as Acting for come in front page news. There is not a strong point for not to support Pranab. She is doing just to show her power. She is better for a opposition leader but not as a decision maker.

  • Prof M. Sharma

    India is such a big country. We should give chances to as many persons as possible to hold Presiden’s and Vice President’s appointmens. Therefore, it is not reasonable to appoint a person to these posts for more tan one term. I have great admiration for Dr. Abdul Kalam and I am glad he took the right decision.
    People had opinion that there is Dictatorship in Communist Party. However, with the recent actions of Ms Mamata Banerjee makes her bigger dictaor in West Bengal in recent years. The people of West Bengal have suffered a lot in recent years and I thought election of Ms Mamata will help the people to move forward. I think Mamata is more concerned with her peronal image than West Bengal. The people of West Bengal must be happy that someone fopm their province will become the President of the country.
    I sincerely hope that Ms mamata will change her mind and support Pranab.

  • karthick

    pranab is the canditate for president in INDIA.but abdul kalam is always our president in ours INDIA….

  • srija

    what is about bengal and bengali this is our country matter there. I am a bengali but I want Kalam to be the president . did evr pranab won a single election???? how come any one thinks about pranab to be president
    what qualities he have within him to become a president of india????
    he was in the econimic part so what happened to that what he did in that for india….ha ha ha actually what i fill i will request you all to go through the past history of all this sonia gandhi and all these people pranab is in ministry from long long years so he desires that before resigning from ministry his last wish to become a president will be fulfilled tats only thing else if pranab himself compare with Kalam he can answer to himself that who is better pranab or kalam who has the proper right to be a president
    politics can select pranab as president but in peoples mind Kalam is our president.
    how shameless this UPA govt i think is they are commiting against Kalam and how respectfull person is kalam that he himself dont want in this dirty policts.

    Will request you all to go through the swizz bank statement and the original and proper history then you could understand what UPA govt is doing with us indians.
    i really dont understand how prativa patil became president????
    accrding to the reports she spend 205crore in foriegn trip….
    we pay tax for all these rubbish things????
    thousands of indians sleep without food and without home and our president is wasting money for her trip…such a great personality…

    Mamata is doing great we all are supporting her and looking forward to listen to her.

    thanks didi
    hope your battle will give result one day we all are waiting for that day.

    Kalam the most suitable president. kalam shouldnot quite the presidential contest

  • Deepak Roy

    Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, s Statesman and true patriot, fully suitable and fittest candidate for Indian Presidential post. Through out his political carrier he carried out his good mission for changing of common peoples’ fate towards progress.
    My warmest regards to him.