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Rabi Banerjee
Rabi Banerjee

KOLKATA

Presidential election: Mamata seeks audience with Modi

PTI5_21_2017_000160A West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee greets to the public on her arrival by a chopper at Sriniketan in Birbhum district | PTI

Mamata Banerjee has sought an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The West Bengal chief minister is leaving for Delhi to build consensus for the presidential candidate.

According to sources in the know of the matter, Mamata knows BJP has numbers and it would be impossible for the opposition to secure a victory for their candidate.

She had spoken to Gopalkrishna Gandhi, but the latter said that he would not enter the race unless there was a consensus.

President Mukherjee is also reportedly adamant in his stance that he would not run for a second term unless he gets support from all major parties.

Mamata has understood that without Modi’s help, it would not be possible to get her candidate elected.

In the past, she was one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's most vociferous critics. She will request Modi to accept a second term for President Mukherjee or otherwise accept Gopalkrishna Gandhi as consensus candidate.

“This is proves how hollow her words are. She is an ally of BJP,” said BJP leader Sujan Chakraborty.

“Why should we listen to her when we have numbers?” asked BJP president Dilip Ghosh.

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