Jagdeep Dhankar, Himanta Sarma and Mamata Banerjee meet in Darjeeling (File)
Mamata Banerjee's party today said it will abstain from voting in the Vice President election, in which the ruling BJP's candidate is Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Governor of Bengal. The Vice Presidential election will be held on August 6. Jagdeep Dhankhar's opposition rival is Congress veteran Margaret Alva.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's nephew Abhijit Banerjee, a Trinamool Congress MP, said the party had unanimously decided not to support either Mr Dhankhar or Margaret Alva.
"The question of supporting the NDA (BJP-led National Democratic Alliance) candidate doesn't even arise. The way the opposition candidate was decided without proper consultation and deliberation with a party which has 35 MPs in both the houses, we have decided unanimously to abstain from the voting process," Mr Banerjee told reporters.
The Trinamool Congress's stunning move comes days after a meeting in Darjeeling featuring an unlikely cast of characters - Mamata Banerjee, her Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma and Mr Dhankhar.
Mr Dhankhar, said sources, asked Mamata Banerjee to support him.
While the Trinamool Congress's stand doesn't help the opposition at all, Mr Dhankhar's elevation as Vice President of India will be a godsend for Mamata Banerjee.
The Chief Minister and Mr Dhankhar have clashed relentlessly over the past three years, with Ms Banerjee accusing the governor of hounding her and her government at the instance of the ruling BJP at the centre.
"On one side is NDA's Dhankhar, on the other side is Margaret Alva. There was a consensus that with Dhankhar's conduct and heavy bias, his assault on the people of Bengal in the past three years...there is no way we can support the NDA candidate," Mr Banerjee said.
"On the other hand, the opposition candidate was decided without us being consulted. A senior leader reached out to Mamata Banerjee but only after the meeting," he said.
