Lunch with Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh and his son, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, high-tea at a five star hotel with Congress leaders, and finally dinner with Bahujan Samaj Party chief, Mayawati. United Progressive Alliance’s presidential candidate, Pranab Mukherjee had a busy schedule in Lucknow on Tuesday.
Not only did Mr. Mukherjee thank Mr. Singh and Ms. Mayawati , who, otherwise constitute two ends of the State’s political spectrum, for supporting his candidature, he was hopeful of getting the unequivocal support of other parties .
Mr. Mukherjee was given a rousing reception by Congressmen when he arrived at the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport. Among those present were the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Rita Bahuguna Joshi and senior leader Pramod Tiwari. In fact, Union Ministers belonging to Uttar Pradesh and Congress MPs had reached the State capital on the occasion.
The UPA candidate’s first engagement was a lunch hosted by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister at his 5, Kalidas Marg official residence. Besides, the Samajwadi Party president, Mulayam Singh and State Ministers, Shivpal Singh Yadav, Mohammad Azam Khan and Ahmed Hasan, the lunch was attended by Union Ministers, Salman Khurshid, Rajiv Shukla, Sri Prakash Jaiswal and RPN Singh, and Congress MPs Jagdambika Pal, Annu Tandon and Zafar Ali Naqvi.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Mukherjee thanked Mr. Singh for extending his party’s support to his candidature. The Samajwadi Party president described the former Finance Minister as a scholar and said that he was the right person to become the President of the country.
After having tea and discussions with the members of the Congress Legislature Party, MPs and senior leaders at a five star hotel, Mr. Mukherjee drove down to Ms. Mayawati’s 13 Mall Avenue residence. MLAs and MPs belonging to the Bahujan Samaj Party were present there. Mr. Mukerjee told journalists that Uttar Pradesh constituted a vital cog in the Presidential elections as the value of total number of votes from the State was 2 lakh (out of more than 11 lakh overall ). The UPA candidate also appreciated the monuments built during the BSP regime.
Mayawati’s clarification
On her part, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister used the occasion to dispel certain notions regarding her bungalow which was in the news recently for the money spent on it. Ms. Mayawati told reporters that she was using only three rooms in the bungalow. She said that the BSP founder and her mentor, Kanshi Ram, stayed at 13 Mall Avenue from 1995 to 2003. She added that following the request of the party leaders it had been converted into a museum. The money, she said, had been spent on building the museum.