M A I N   N E W S

Pranab-Mamata meeting fails to materialise
Anita Katyal/TNS

New Delhi, July 9
UPA presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee was in Kolkata today to seek support for his candidature in the July 19 election but his much-awaited meeting with key Congress ally Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee failed to materialise, raising serious questions about the durability of her relationship with the UPA government at the Centre.

Relations between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress had been under severe strain for the past several months but matters came to a head in the run-up to the presidential election.

Unhappy with the Congress for endorsing Pranab Mukherjee’s candidature, Mamata is the only UPA partner which has failed to extend support to the former Finance Minister’s bid for the presidency.

The Congress top brass had, however, hoped that the mercurial Trinamool Congress chief could be persuaded and was banking on a personal meeting between Mamata and Pranab to break the ice.

Mukherjee had said that he was ready to talk to Mamata “as and when she is ready to talk to me.”

That the Mamata-Pranab meeting did not take place shows Mamata Banerjee is in no mood to relent, which could have long-term implications for the functioning of the ruling coalition at the Centre.

“Relations between the Congress and Trinamool were already under severe strain. It now appears that the cracks between the two will widen further,” remarked a worried senior Congress leader.

Congress sources said the survival of the UPA government will not be affected in case Mamata walks out of the UPA as it can make up the loss of 19 Trinamool MPs with the backing of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party which are already extending outside support to the ruling combine.

However, this will end up enhancing the Congress party’s dependence on the Samajwadi Party, leaving little elbow room for the beleaguered UPA government.

It is precisely for this reason that the Congress top brass has been keen to keep Mamata in good humour. After the initial slanging match between the parties shortly after Mukherjee’s candidature was announced, the Congress pulled back from the brink, even going to the extent of snubbing its senior leader Digvijaya Singh for publicly criticising the Trinamool chief.

The Congress also drew solace from the fact that not a single Trinamool legislator had spoken against Mukherjee after he filed his nomination.

Back-channel efforts were also made in recent days to reach out to Mamata to lay the ground for Mukherjee’s Kolkata visit. While Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal called on her last week during an official visit to Kolkata, Shakeel Ahmed, AICC in charge of West Bengal, also visited the state capital to solicit the Trinamool’s support for Mukherjee.