Mamata Banerjee reached New Delhi on Tuesday afternoon, a day ahead of a meeting of non-BJP forces she has convened to discuss the upcoming presidential election, and met NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
There had been considerable chatter around Pawar’s name as a possible consensus candidate of the Opposition for the 15th President. Both Pawar and Trinamul tweeted pictures of the meeting, but there was no clarity on what the two leaders discussed.
The Trinamul Congress chief remained tight-lipped on whether she is supporting Pawar for the post.
The NCP chief had purportedly said on Monday evening at a party meeting that he was not in the race but that has not quelled the speculation swirling around his name.
NCP sources have indicated that the veteran politician is not interested in a “losing battle” but few are ruling out any possibility till a formal announcement from the Opposition camp.
A source close to Mamata said: “Wait till tomorrow.… She will meet the senior leaders of several Opposition parties and say whatever has to be said.”
The NCP chief has already met the Congress’s emissaries, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary D. Raja and several others in Delhi.
Sources said that most of the 22 parties invited by Mamata to Wednesday’s meeting were likely to participate but not all would be represented by their party heads or chief ministers.
According to a source, the Congress will send Mallikarjun Kharge, Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh while the DMK will be represented by its senior leader T.R. Baalu. There was no clarity on representation from the Samajwadi Party and the AAP, the source said.
“Despite their reservations about joining an initiative taken by the Trinamul chief, the Left parties will participate but the final call is yet to be taken on whether the general secretaries will go or some other leaders from the two parties will,” said a source.
As of now, indications are that the BJD, TRS and the YSRCP will continue to maintain their distance from the Opposition camp.
TRS sources said Telangana chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao — who had in April announced his intent to play a role in national politics — is unlikely to share a platform with the Congress at Wednesday’s meeting but may eventually vote with the Opposition because of his own issues with the BJP over the past year that have resulted in him taking a stand against the ruling party’s bulldozer politics.
“Didi is keen on playing a larger role in national politics and right now she sniffs an opportunity to rally the national Opposition over the cause of the presidential poll,” said a Trinamul source.
President Ram Nath Kovind’s term ends on July 24. The ruling coalition, led by the BJP, does not have the numbers for a guaranteed victory. The gap, however, can easily be made up with support from either the BJD or the YSRCP. In 2017 too, the NDA did not have the numbers, but it got support from the TRS, YSRCP and the BJD.
“If the idea of this Opposition exercise is so laughable —as the BJP claims — then why did the likes of (BJP chief) J.P. Nadda and (Union defence minister) Rajnath Singh have to spring into action within hours of its announcement?” asked a senior Trinamul MP.
“It is going to be a close contest, and the non-BJP parties, as a unit, do hold the advantage. What will happen in the end is in the realm of speculation. But there is no harm in trying, which is what she (Mamata) is doing,” he added.
