President poll: Back Pranab, Bhuniya urges Trinamool

The West Bengal Congress Committee on Sunday appealed to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to support Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee if the party high command makes him the Presidential candidate.

The request came from former WBPCC president Manas Bhuniya who also happens to be the Minister for Irrigation and Small and Medium Scale Industries in the West Bengal Cabinet. Incidentally, the present state Congress chief Pradip Bhatacharya has already made the same request to Banerjee. She had earlier said that she was in favour of candidates like Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, former President A P J Abdul Kalam or former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

"The people of Bengal have been driven by emotion and they want Pranabbabu as President. We request Mamata Banerjee to endorse his name,'' Bhuniya told mediapersons in Kolkata.

A TMC leader told The Indian Express that the party leader had already indicated her choice to the Congress but she will wait for the latter's final choice before taking a call.

(With ENS Delhi)

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