Sections
Home | Frontpage | Pranab Mukherjee named for President

Pranab Mukherjee named for President

Font size: Decrease font Enlarge font
morungexpress



Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony, left, stands behind as Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, second left, Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, third left, and Congress party president Sonia Gandhi pose for the media after Mukherjee was nominated for the post of India’s president during ruling United progressive alliance meeting, in New Delhi, India, Friday, June 15. (AP Photo)
 
New Delhi, June 15 (IANS): The UPA Friday named Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, one of India’s most versatile politicians, as its presidential candidate, tripping mercurial ally Mamata Banerjee and virtually ensuring his journey to Rashtrapati Bhavan next month.
Minutes after Congress president Sonia Gandhi made the formal announcement, after a meeting of UPA partners minus the Trinamool Congress, Mukherjee earned the support of several parties, including the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal.

The Left, Mamata Banerjee’s bitter foes, immediately congratulated Mukherjee, with Left sources saying a decision on backing him would be taken Saturday.
As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh quickly telephoned political leaders, including BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, seeking support for the finance minister and Congress troubleshooter, a confident looking Mukherjee, 76, made a similar appeal. “We have requested and appealed to all political parties to lend their support (to me),” he said. Political pundits said he was expected to earn more than 50 percent of all votes in an electoral college comprising MPs and members of state assemblies.

After Gandhi’s announcement, DMK leader T.R. Baalu draped a pink shawl around Gandhi’s shoulder and gave her a bouquet. He then presented orange stoles to the prime minister and Mukherjee. The UPA decision left West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee floundering, with her nominee and former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam reportedly declining to contest.

If that happens, the only other person left in the contest would be former Lok Sabha speaker Purno Sangma, who has been propped up by the AIADMK and Biju Janata Dal (BJD). The BJD also refused to back Mukherjee.
Interestingly, Sangma does not enjoy the backing of his own Nationalist Congress Party, part of the ruling alliance.
The days of suspense over the UPA candidate ended Friday evening when Gandhi announced at the prime minister’s official residence that Mukherjee had been chosen because of his “long and distinguished record of public service standing over five decades”.
SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav, who only two days ago appeared to be sailing with Mamata Banerjee, echoed the view in Lucknow saying Mukherjee was an intellectual and a hugely capable leader.

Asked why he ditched Banerjee, who had earlier said Kalam would be the joint nominee of her party and SP, he replied: “In politics, you have to sail with developments.”
Earlier, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati extended her BSP’s support for Mukherjee. She added in Lucknow that Mukherjee would win hands down.
Congress sources said the UPA expected the BJP-led National Democratic Front (NDA) to also back Mukherjee, who is one of the most senior members of parliament, having been first elected to the house in 1969. He first became a minister in the Indira Gandhi government way back in 1973.
But even as it announced Mukherjee’s candidature, Congress sources admitted Friday that the UPA would sorely miss his presence in parliament where he often single-handedly demolished opposition onslaughts.
Mukherjee’s candidature means the Congress will have to find a new finance minister -- at a time when India is facing economic problems -- and also a leader of the house in the Lok Sabha.

According to party insiders, Manmohan Singh may like to appoint Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia or C. Rangarajan, who heads the prime minister’s Economic Advisory Council, as the next finance minister.
Gandhi is known to prefer a party veteran for the finance ministry.
Born Dec 11, 1935 at Mirati in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, Mukherjee, whose father too was in the Congress, took to politics in the 1960s after a brief career as a college teacher and a journalist.

The father of two sons and a daughter has held several portfolios, including finance, external affairs, defence and commerce.
He was elected to the the Rajya Sabha in 1969, and re-elected in 1975, 1981, 1993 and 1999. He was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 2004 and again in 2009.
 
_______________________________
 
Samajwadi Party does somersault, backs Pranab
New Delhi, June 15 (IANS): In less than 48 hours, the Samajwadi Party Friday did a U-turn on its support to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as the country’s president, now backing him wholeheartedly. “Samajwadi Party supports Pranab Mukherjee. He is a vidhwan (scholar) in politics and under the present national situation, he is the most suitable person to be the country’s president,” Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh told reporters soon after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) endorsed the finance minister’s name as its candidate for the presidential polls.
On Wednesday, Mulayam Singh had, along with Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, virtually rejected the name of Mukherjee, a suggestion made by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Asked why he had changed his opinion all of a sudden, the Samajwadi Party chief quipped: “In politics, such questions are useless. As new situation emerges, decisions are taken.”
Earlier, party leader Ram Gopal Yadav announced his party’s support to Mukherjee. “SP will support him,” he said. “We will pray for his victory.” With this, Mulayam Singh and his party has in one deft move, ditched Banerjee on her effort to take along the Samajwadi Party to counter the Congress in the presidential polls.
 
_______________________________
 
NDA to discuss Mukherjee’s candidature: BJP
New Delhi, June 15 (IANS): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday said it will decide on Pranab Mukherjee’s candidature for president’s post after a meeting with its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies. Talking to reporters soon after Congress president Sonia Gandhi announced Mukherjee’s candidature, BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said the Congress should have tried to build a consensus earlier.
“The NDA will meet and decide on this,” Hussain told reporters. He, however, did not say when the meeting would be held.  “The prime minister called BJP leaders... they (the Congress) should have made attempts to build consensus earlier,” he said.  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday evening called the Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, respectively, as well as senior BJP leader L.K. Advani to seek support for Mukherjee’s candidature.

Login or Register to post your Comment (Available for registered users only)

Comments (0 posted):

Post your comment comment

Please enter the code you see in the image:

  • email Email to a friend
  • print Print version
  • Plain text Plain text
Log in
Register
Tags
No tags for this article