Maya, Mulayam at Sonia's lunch, NCP absent
7 Aug 2012 8:09 AM IST
The Congress President Sonia Gandhi hosted a lunch for all Congress MPs and that of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) allies on Monday, at the Capital's Ashoka Hotel, a day in advance of the vice-presidential election. Earlier on 18 July, she had held a similar lunch a day ahead of the presidential poll.
Interestingly, this luncheon witnessed arch-rivals Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati come face-to-face, as they braved a united front in rendering their support to UPA's vice-presidential candidate Hamid Ansari, being marked by their presence at this lunch.
During the course of this lunch, Mayawati was seated on the table with Sonia Gandhi, while strategically Yadav sat on a different table, next to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. As a conscious effort by them, the two did not exchange pleasantries.
While the Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee did not attend the function, her representatives including Union Ministers Sudip Bandyopadhyay and C M Jatua were present at the lunch, which can be read as a clear indicator of the party's support to UPA's Vice Presidential nominee Hamid Ansari. What was most interesting to note was the absence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and his deputy and heavy industries minister Praful Patel during this lunch. While present as the party's representatives were NCP leaders Tariq Anwar and DP Tripathi. Also present was Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule, who shared the table with Sonia Gandhi and also interacted with her during the lunch.
Speaking to Millennium Post, NCP leader DP Tripathi said,'Pawar and Patel being absent from the lunch was not intentional, they had prior engagements. Pawar was visiting places reviewing the drought situation and was not present in Delhi. While Patel had prior family engagements. But Tariq Anwar, Supriya Sule and I were there.'
Interestingly, this luncheon witnessed arch-rivals Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati come face-to-face, as they braved a united front in rendering their support to UPA's vice-presidential candidate Hamid Ansari, being marked by their presence at this lunch.
During the course of this lunch, Mayawati was seated on the table with Sonia Gandhi, while strategically Yadav sat on a different table, next to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. As a conscious effort by them, the two did not exchange pleasantries.
While the Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee did not attend the function, her representatives including Union Ministers Sudip Bandyopadhyay and C M Jatua were present at the lunch, which can be read as a clear indicator of the party's support to UPA's Vice Presidential nominee Hamid Ansari. What was most interesting to note was the absence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and his deputy and heavy industries minister Praful Patel during this lunch. While present as the party's representatives were NCP leaders Tariq Anwar and DP Tripathi. Also present was Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule, who shared the table with Sonia Gandhi and also interacted with her during the lunch.
Speaking to Millennium Post, NCP leader DP Tripathi said,'Pawar and Patel being absent from the lunch was not intentional, they had prior engagements. Pawar was visiting places reviewing the drought situation and was not present in Delhi. While Patel had prior family engagements. But Tariq Anwar, Supriya Sule and I were there.'
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