As NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu looks set to occupy the highest office in the country, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that had she wished she could have garnered more votes in support of the opposition candidate, Yashwant Sinha.
The counting of votes for the presidential election is currently underway and Sinha is likely to lose the battle against Murmu.
It was Mamata Banerjee who had led the opposition’s talks on deciding presidential candidates. The opposition first decided on the name of NCP’s Sharad Pawar, who declined to run for the post. Later, the opposition party named Yashwant Sinha – who was TMC’s vice-president.
Days after, the NDA named Murmu, a tribal, as its presidential candidate, putting many opposition parties in the dock as they could not afford to oppose her considering tribal populations in their states.
Among the first to extend their support from the opposition were Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy. Murmu comes from the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.
As the campaign progressed, Mamata Banerjee too realised that Murmu was ahead in the race and Sinha was fighting a losing battle. She also said that Murmu could have been a consensus candidate if the NDA had shared her name ahead of announcing. She said Murmu had a better chance to win the presidential race.
Many analysts believe that Mamata could not oppose Murmu as West Bengal has a considerable tribal population and she had cornered most of their votes in the recent assembly polls.
