Sonia, Mamata to meet on Tuesday
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee will meet here next week to chalk out the strategy for the upcoming Presidential election.
Sources said Gandhi called Banerjee from the capital’s Ganga Ram Hospital, where the senior Congress leader was admitted.
Banerjee, who enjoys excellent personal rapport with Gandhi, will arrive in Delhi on Monday and is likely to meet the Congress chief on Tuesday.
Even as the Opposition swiftly moved to secure Banerjee’s support in the Presidential poll—to be held in July—YSR Congress party president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy met Prime Minister here and promised support.
“We will support any candidate the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fields as we have very less difference in opinion. Except for differences on the land acquisition bill and special status for Andhra Pradesh, we share similar opinions on various issues which we think are pro-people,” Jagan said.
Jagan, the son of late Congress chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, formed his own party after allegedly getting a raw deal from the Congress leadership.
While the Congress never counted on Jagan Reddy’s support, it is banking on Trinamool Congress, which has more than 64,000 votes, to join the Opposition ranks. Trinamool Congress’ votes are crucial for the Opposition to give a close fight to the BJP. In 2012, Banerjee had proposed former President APJ Abdul Kalam’s name to Gandhi but the proposal didn’t find any support from other parties. Finally, the Congress fielded the then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.
This year, the Congress is unlikely to field any party candidate as it is keen to rope in other Opposition parties for a consensus candidate.
The BSP expelled general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui, a prominent Muslim face and close aide of chief Mayawati, for alleged anti-party activities and taking money from cadre.
BSP leader Satish Mishra announced the expulsion of Siddiqui and his son Afzaal, a zonal coordinator, from the party.
Mishra accused Siddiqui of owning slaughter houses and land in western Uttar Pradesh, besides indulging in “anti-party activities”.
Siddiqui was BSP’s Muslim face and along with Mishra was considered closest aides of party supremo Mayawati.
The BSP has also accused Siddiqui of taking money from party cadre, an allegation that has previously been levelled on Mayawati by former party leaders like Swami Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak who have since joined the BJP.
Siddiqui’s expulsion is being viewed as a big blow to the BSP that is already reeling under the humiliating loss it received in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh polls.
“He was later made the in-charge of Madhya Pradesh but he didn’t go there either,” Mishra said. Siddiqui hasn’t spoken yet on his expulsion.