Pranab writes to Mamata
Srinagar/Bhubaneswar: With three days left for the Presidential poll, UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday wrote to Mamata Banerjee seeking her support while his rival P A Sangma claimed to have the support of 18 political parties and some Congressmen.
“The President stands above party politics. Given an opportunity, it shall be my endeavour to protect the values of this office: integrity, impartiality and the promotion of ‘Sarva dharma sambhav’ which constitute the essence and spirit of our Constitution,” Mukherjee wrote in the letter.
The West Bengal Chief Minister chose to make public Mukherjee’s letter by posting it on her Facebook page stating that she received it today.
In Bhubaneswar, Sangma claimed that his prospect in Thursday’s Presidential election is “very good” and that he was optimistic of a repeat of 1969 when V V Giri had defeated the official candidate of Congress.
“Since there is no restriction, whip or any written direction in this election, I am hopeful of getting support of many MLAs and MPs. Therefore, my prospect in the elections is very good,” Sangma said after meeting MLAs and MPs of the ruling BJD and opposition BJP.
The former Lok Sabha speaker claimed 18 political parties were already backing his candidature and said he was expecting support from some Congressmen too.
“Eighteen political parties have given commitment to support me. Some parties are likely to announce their decision in a day or two while others may not announce at all. We hope they will vote for us,” he said.
Later in Guwahati, Sangma called upon MLAs and MPs of the Congress party to vote for him without fear, saying there was no official whip barring them from doing so and cited the presence of secret ballot. “Nobody has to be afraid. I am conveying this particular message to the Congress MLAs and MPs. Constitution says you can vote for anybody whom you want. Party cannot dictate to you. It is your choice, your conscience.”(PTI)