By IANS,
Kolkata : Reminding West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of the common goal of serving India, UPA presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee has written a letter to the Trinamool Congress chief to garner the support of the estranged ally.
“The passage of a nation’s life can never be continuously even and free from disputation. This makes it imperative that we set aside differences and unite to serve our nation that is our life,” said Mukherjee.
Hailing democracy as it offers the finest environment for the future, Mukherjee said that he feels blessed that he lives in democracy whose roots are unshakable.
The letter was posted by Banerjee on her Facebook page. Although the date given on the letter is July 2, Banerjee said she had received it only Sunday.
“I am honoured that UPA and its supporting parties, along with other parties and individuals considered me worthy of the office of president of India. If my election has any meaning, it is only as part of our common service to our motherland. It is in this spirit that I seek your individual support in this election,” Mukherjee wrote.
In the letter, he stated that he still dreams of eliminating the last vestiges of the terrifying affliction called poverty.
“We must together take our nation towards that horizon where every young citizen irrespective of caste, creed or religion becomes an equal claimant to opportunity. That must be the core of our national vision for the future,” said Mukherjee.
Reiterating that the post of president stands above party politics, the veteran politician and former finance minister stated that he was schooled in politics by the pro-poor commitment of late prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Banerjee, also West Bengal chief minister, is yet to announce her party’s support to any candidate. She had earlier snubbed Mukherjee by rooting for former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
The Trinamool, the second largest constituent of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), is yet to take a stand on the presidential election after its preferred candidate, Kalam, declined to contest.
Banerjee has so far opposed Mukherjee’s bid for the top post. She is said to have told her aides that she would decide her stand two or three days before the July 19 vote.
Mukherjee is pitted against former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma, who has the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and some National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents besides the AIADMK and Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
The electoral arithmetic seems to be favouring Mukherjee with all the UPA constituents except Trinamool rooting for him. The Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), All India Forward Bloc, Janata Dal-United JD(U) and Shiv Sena have also expressed their support for him.