January 20, 2026 05:21 pm (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
Nitin Nabin becomes BJP’s youngest president ahead of key assembly polls, PM Modi calls him ‘my boss’ | Viral video scandal rocks Karnataka Police: DGP Ramachandra Rao suspended | Jolt to ECI over SIR! SC allows BLAs at hearing, questions 'logical discrepancy'; TMC declares 'BJP's game over' | Will dal disrupt diplomacy? US lawmakers urge Trump to act on India’s 30% pulse tariff | 'Pakistan deserves Operation Sindoor 2.0', says Baloch leader over Trump’s Gaza board invitation to Islamabad | From Malda to the nation: PM Modi unveils India’s Vande Bharat sleeper | War zone Beldanga: Highway blocked, reporters attacked in migrant death protests | Can a Nobel Peace Prize be given away? Committee breaks silence after Machado hands over medal to Trump | Europe scrambles troops to Greenland as Trump’s takeover push triggers Arctic power showdown | Nobel drama: Venezuelan leader presents Peace Prize to Trump

We are in favour of a consensus candidate from the opposition, says Mamata on presidential election

| | May 17, 2017, at 12:13 am
New Delhi, May 16 (IBNS): Hinting at a unified opposition again, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, after a meeting with the Congress national president Sonia Gandhi, said that her Trinamool Congress are in favour of a consensus candidate for the presidential election, according to media reports on Tuesday.

"We will decide a consensus candidate from the opposition who will be better for the country, because the country is important," Banerjee said. 

While interacting with the media after the meet, Banerjee said that she might again meet Sonia next week to discuss on presidential election.

The term of Pranab Mukherjee as a president will expire in the month of July and to decide on the possible face to be projected by the opposition for the presidential election, WB CM flew to the national capital to meet Gandhi, a day back.

Though Banerjee did not reveal the details of the meeting with the Congress national president, she said that there were no name for the post discussed in the course of the discussion.

Without taking any name, Banerjee targeted the BJP and said: "Political fights must be fought politcally and ideologically but not by sending Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) to all political parties. It can be to Lalu (Lalu Prasad Yadav), Kejri (Arvind Kejriwal) , Virbhadra Singh, Chidambaram (P. Chidambaram), Akhilesh Yadav or my party (TMC). They also pressurised media even. We won't allow them to bulldoze democracy because India is a democratic country."

Banerjee was a proponent in calling for a unified opposition and vehemently favoured a federal front particularly after the demonetisation, which was later resonated in Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's voice.

Regarding the meet with Sonia, the TMC supremo said: "We discussed various political issues. When two political parties talk to each other, political discussions do come up."

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.