Pranab writes to voters, Congress eyes 70% votes

In yet another bid to garner more support for his candidature, Pranab Mukherjee sent letters to all voters of the presidential poll, including Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. The UPA’s presidential candidate has so far avoided direct talks with the key ally of the ruling dispensation. Saubhadra Chatterji reports.

In yet another bid to garner more support for his candidature, Pranab Mukherjee sent letters to all voters of the presidential poll, including Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress. The UPA’s presidential candidate has so far avoided direct talks with the key ally of the ruling dispensation.

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Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said at an informal interaction at Mukherje’s residence here on Tuesday that the letters were written last week and all voters —elected MPs and MLAs in all states— received individual letters.

Mukherjee is also slated to tour different states till July 15 to meet the voters. Even as the PA Sangma lobby continued its attack on him, the UPA’s candidate refrained from making any comments on opposition-backed Sangma and even Mamata Banerjee — whose party is also slamming Mukherjee for seeking votes from the Left parties but not from the biggest ally.

In Mumbai, Sangma took yet another dig at Mukherjee and said Rashtrapati Bhavan was being used as a ‘dumping ground’ for Mukherjee, a ‘failed’ finance minister.

In the latest estimate, the UPA managers are hopeful of getting almost 70% votes for its candidate. A top Congress manager told HT that they expect N Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP may support the UPA if Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress decides to back Mukherjee.