New Delhi: Just two days after giving the UPA a royal snub over the candidates for the Presidential poll, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Friday ditched her new-found friend Mamata Banerjee after the ruling alliance declared that Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is its candidate in the race to the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Hours after UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi named Pranab as the presidential nominee, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister addressed a press conference declaring his support to the veteran Congressman.
He said, "We support Pranab as he is a great parliamentarian. We need such people in high post."
"Pranab’s stature is high and the UPA has proposed his name, we will be supporting him. This doesn’t have significance on what talks we had with the Trinamool Congress," he further said.
When asked about the three names – former president APJ Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee – he had proposed along with Mamata, the Samajwadi Party chief said that they were only suggestions.
Answering a question on the apparent change in his stand on the issue, the seasoned politician said, "In politics there are developments, and decisions are taken according to them."
The change in the stand of the Samajwadi Party was expected on Thursday itself, when after a meeting with the Trinamool Congress chief, Mulayam, unlike Wednesday, did not address the media jointly with her.
Following the meeting, Mamata also sent a letter through her emissary to Mulayam over the presidential poll.
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