New Delhi, July 18
While the stage was set for Thursday’s presidential election, the UPA presented a united picture on Wednesday with all its partners, including the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and other supporting parties, attending a lunch hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Trinamool chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee did not attend, but her party was represented by Rajya Sabha MPs KD Singh and Sukendhu Sekhar Roy, suggesting a thaw in the ongoing cold war between the Congress and the TMC.

Leaders of the TMC were, however, not present when UPA’s vice-presidential candidate Hamid Ansari filed his nomination papers today for the August 7 poll, but the ruling combine did put up an impressive show of strength on the occasion.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Samajwadi Party president Mulayum Singh Yadav, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and BSP leader Satish Mishra were among a host of leaders who accompanied Ansari when he submitted his papers to the returning officer.

The bonhomie witnessed in the morning continued over lunch, with the presence of TMC representatives providing considerable relief to the Congress.

Relations between the two allies had come under severe strain over the UPA’s decision to endorse Pranab Mukherjee for the President’s post. Mamata was bitterly opposed to Pranab’s candidature and had held out her support to him till Tuesday, when she dramatically declared that her party would vote for the UPA nominee.

Sonia Gandhi is learnt to have invited Mamata Banerjee and her MPs for lunch when she rang up the Trinamool chief yesterday to thank her for backing Pranab. The Congress is now hoping that Mamata will also pledge support to UPA’s vice-presidential candidate Hamid Ansari, though the mercurial UPA partner is yet to disclose her preference.

With the numbers stacked firmly in his favour, Mukherjee is set to romp home with a record 7.2 lakh votes while his opponent PA Sangma is expected to be way behind. A total of 4,896 MPs and MLAs are eligible to vote in the Presidential election.

Returning officer VK Agnihotri said all arrangements were in place for a “free and fair poll”, while security has been tightened around Parliament House, the venue of the election.

State capitals had also made necessary preparations to conduct the poll in an orderly manner. As many as 77 MPs — including TMC members — have been permitted to cast their votes in the various state capitals while eight MLAs have been allowed to vote in the Parliament House.

The run-up to the presidential election was marked by a series of twists and turns. The Congress and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee disagreed over Pranab’s candidature and, at one point, it appeared that the two were close to parting company.

While Pranab’s victory was never in question, his nomination hit a brief hurdle when Opposition-backed candidate PA Sangma and his team, including his election agent Satyapal Jain, alleged that the UPA nominee had violated the office of profit rules and demanded that his nomination be scrutinised again. Their objection was overruled first by the returning officer and subsequently by the Election Commission.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Wednesday allowed 2G case accused former telecom minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi to cast their vote in Thursday’s poll.