The Trinamool Congress parliamentary party today announced Mamata Banerjee as its parliamentary party leader and officially declared its support to the next Congress-led government at the Centre. The announcement was made after a closed-door meeting Mamata held with her new MPs at her Kalighat residence.

While the Trinamool chief herself maintained her earlier line that she was not bargaining for portfolios at the Centre in exchange for her support to a Congress-led government, party sources said Mamata wants the representation of all sections, including women, minorities, scheduled castes, senior leaders and MPs attached to the Nandigram agitation in the new Cabinet.

In Monday’s meeting, newly-elected MPs — Sultan Ahmed and Govinda Chandra Naskar — were unanimously elected deputy leaders of the Trinamool parliamentary party. Mamata later said a letter containing the signatures of her MPs would be sent to President Pratibha Patil informing her about their support to the UPA. Party general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Roy would leave for Delhi on Monday night, she said.

“We do not believe in bargain. There is no need to talk about which ministry we want. We never asked anything from anyone.” she said, adding “we will do whatever is good for the people.”

Mamata said she was likely to leave for New Delhi in a day or two and that she is in touch with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. She said her MPs would be in Delhi when needed. “Sonia Gandhi called us and we had a talk. Manmohan Singh called us and we had a talk. All our MPs will be present in Delhi whenever they are asked to.”

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