President Election : All eyes now on Sonia-Mamata Meet

New Delhi. Who will be the President of India? Now all eyes are set on country’s two powerful ladies, Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee, who will meet today to get a solution on the issue. Amidst the reports of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee being the frontrunner, former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Wednesday emerged as a mystery candidate for President.
Interestingly, Finance Minister Pranab Mukheree is himself involved in the exercise of working out a package for West Bengal to help meet its debt situation, a step that could ensure Trinamool’s backing. On her part, Mamata Banerjee refused to disclose her party’s strategy when asked whether Trinamool would support Mukherjee, saying who the Congress picks its candidate is its business.  According to reports, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee threw googly after she floated Somnath Chatterjee’s name for President candidate. So far, the reports said that Mamata was not opposed to Pranab and was unlikely to say no to his candidature during her meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday evening.
She said Gandhi has invited her for discussions on Wednesday on the Presidential candidate and “let us see what she has”. Significantly, Banerjee said she would meet Yadav again after holding confabulations with Gandhi.
Congress sources also speak of Vice President Hamid Ansari or Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar as dark horses in view of the fact that the Finance Minister’s shift to Rashtrapati Bhavan involves looking for replacements in the Finance Ministry and as Leader of the Lok Sabha.

Mukherjee also appeared to be getting support from various sections with NCP, another key constituent of the alliance, saying the next President “will be senior-most person”.

Interestingly, though BJP has not come out with its stand, its MP Maneka Gandhi expressed her backing for Mukherjee, saying the country needs a “seasoned politician” like him.