West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee writes to 22 opposition seniors, calls meet on president poll on June 15

KOLKATA: CM Mamata Banerjee on Saturday wrote to 22 senior opposition leaders, including eight other CMs and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, ahead of the presidential elections, urging “all progressive forces to align and resist the divisive forces plaguing us today”.
Calling this presidential poll “monumental”, Banerjee urged the opposition seniors to attend the joint opposition conclave at Delhi’s Constitution Club on June 15.
“A nation with a robust democratic character requires a strong and effective opposition,” she wrote. “All progressive forces need to remain aligned and resist the divisive force that is plaguing us today. Opposition leaders are being deliberately targeted by different central agencies, the country’s image is maligned internationally and bitter dissension is created within. It is time we strengthen our resistance,” she added.
“The presidential elections are round the corner, presenting the perfect opportunity for all progressive opposition parties to reconvene and deliberate on the future course of Indian politics,” she wrote, adding that the election was monumental as it gave them the opportunity to decide the head of the state who is the custodian of our democracy.
The Bengal CM, in her letter to 22 opposition seniors ahead of the presidential polls said, "The (presidential) election is monumental because it gives legislators the opportunity to participate in deciding the head of the state who is the custodian of our democracy. At a time when our democracy is going through troubled times, I believe that a fruitful confluence of opposition voices is the need of the hour to echo the deprived and unrepresented communities."
Mamata Banerjee reached out to Maharashtra CM, Uddhav Thackeray, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Odisha CM Naveen Pattanaik, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann as well as Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad, CPI general secretary D Raja, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, former Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav among others. Banerjee is likely to leave for Delhi on June 14.
The Bengal CM has, over the past few days, spoken to the Congress president and the party's Rajya Sabha leader, Mallikarjun Kharge. The Trinamool Congress, seniors said, would not propose any name from the party (as the presidential nominee).
Banerjee's letter follows indications from the Samajwadi Party that it will favour any nominee proposed by Banerjee. The SP has also indicated it is unlikely to be part of any formation backing a Congress nominee; AAP and TRS too have indicated as much, say Trinamool leaders. TNN