By IANS,
Kolkata: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress heavyweight Pranab Mukherjee and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Saturday came together on the stage in West Bengal asking people to vote out the Left Front and catapult their alliance to power.The three leaders made the appeal at a joint election rally held at Dum Dum area of North 24 Parganas district that attracted thousands from among Congress and Trinamool supporters. Dum Dum goes to polls April 27.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi had campaigned in the state but did not hold any joint campaign with Trinamool leaders.
Manmohan Singh called Banerjee, the railway minister, as a “valued partner” of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). He drew huge applause when he began the speech, calling Banerjee “my sister”.
Manmohan Singh said it was time to usher in a regime change in West Bengal and promised an industrial revolution if the Left was voted out.
He also promised to restore peace in the state, now hit by political violence.
Manmohan Singh chatted with Banerjee for a while when both were seated on the dais. Both were all smiles.
When Banerjee rose to address the crowd, it was the 78-year-old prime minister who clapped the most among all those on the podium.
As Manmohan Singh and Banerjee went up to the dais, the crowds roared with slogans of “Mamata Banerjee Zindabad” and “Manmohan Singh Zindabad”.
Manmohan Singh’s joint campaign with Banerjee came on a day when the state went for the second phase of polls in Murshidabad and Nadia.