TMC will decide on President poll on July 16: Mamata

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supreme Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that the final decision on her party's stand on Presidential election would be taken three days before the polling date on July 19.

She has asked all her party MPs, MLAs to be present in Kolkata for the Presidential election on July 19.

"Mamata said that the final decision on the party stand will be taken three days before the polling date", Trinamool Congress leaders Sudip Bandopadhyay and Sultan Ahmed (both unions ministers of state), said after a meeting of party MPs, MLAs and councillors, presided over by Mamata Banerjee.

"She has asked all TMC MPs and MLAs to be present in Kolkata on the polling date on July 19", they said. Asked if the Trinamool Congress will participate in the presidential election, they said "May be. But the decision will only be taken three days before the election".

Mamata Banerjee told the meeting that Trinamool Congress "is a 100 per cent disciplined party and what one or two say, does not matter".

Incidentally, party MP Somen Mitra as also his wife Sikha Mitra, TMC MLA, were not present at the meeting.

Sikha Mitra stoked controversy yesterday by openly criticising party leadership at a B C Roy birth anniversary programme at the Pradesh Congress office, where Somen Mitra was present.