Draupadi Murmu has better chances to win presidential polls after Maharashtra development: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said opposition parties might have considered backing NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader of the saffron party from Odisha, had the BJP held a discussion with them before fielding her. Maintaining that Murmu had better chances to win the July 18 presidential election, with NDA's numbers having got boosted after the change of guard in Maharashtra, Banerjee stressed that "a consensus candidate is always better for the country".

"BJP's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu has better chances (to win presidential polls) because of Maharashtra development. If the BJP had asked for our suggestion before announcing the name of Murmu, we could have considered it, too, bearing greater interests in mind," Banerjee told reporters on the sidelines of a Rath Yatra programme here.

The TMC supremo said that she "will go by what the opposition parties decide".


Non-BJP parties, including the Congress as well as the TMC, have named former Union minister Yashwant Sinha as the joint nominee for the presidential polls.