By IANS,
New Delhi : Scotching speculation of a rift between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Trinamool Congress, SP general secretary Kiranmoy Nanda Friday said both the parties had jointly announced their presidential candidates.
“Please don’t go by speculation. You will come to know about every development at the appropriate time. I don’t know from where this question of split arises. We had announced the names of (presidential) candidates together,” Nanda told IANS.
The two parties had Wednesday named former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as one of their three preferred candidates for president. On Thursday, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee said Kalam was their number one choice and reiterated it after a meeting with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
“We stand by our decision,” Nanda told reporters during a joint media briefing with Banerjee Friday.
Stating that the Samajwadi Party was with her, Banerjee said Kalam would contest the presidential elections and sent “advance congratulations” to him for a second tenure in office.