Mukherjee meets Sharad Yadav to thank him for JD-U support

Clad in a traditional Bengali dhoti-kurta, Mukherjee, accompanied by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bandal and Minister of State in PMO V Narayanasamy, drove up to Yadav's residence and remained with him for around 20 minutes.

The two exchanged some pleasantries and Mukherjee thanked the JD-U leader for the support his party had extended to him in the Presidential election, defying the NDA coalition.

"Pranabda only came to meet me for the support given to him by the party. He came to thank me. There is nothing more to it," Yadav told reporters after the meeting.

Mukherjee did not speak to the media despite Yadav's prodding and departed with a "thank you".

The meeting came a day after Yadav signed as first proposer for Mukherjee's candidature in one the four sets of his nomination papers.

Sources said that Mukherjee during his chat recalled some of his encounters with Yadav in Parliament. He also said he has been observing Yadav's role in Parliament for a long time and remembers well that the opposition leader had resigned from his Lok Sabha membership thrice on different issues.

Mukherjee had called up Yadav last evening itself to inform him about his intent to meet him. During the meeting, Yadav also told the Congress leaders that a consensus would have been arrived had their party made a serious attempt to do so in the beginning.

Yadav told Mukherjee he would be missed in Parliament. While Mukherjee had become an MP for the first time in 1969, Yadav made his debut in 1974.

The JD-U leader said that dhoti-kurta is a traditional Bengali dress, which suits Mukherjee and that he should wear it more often.

JD-U's decision to back Mukherjee's candidature has caused quite an unease within NDA as BJP has decided for a contest against Mukherjee and has supported P A Sangma, a candidate backed by BJD and AIADMK. SKC AMR SC