TMC to support Congress candidate in Lok Sabha Speaker elections

The TMC is likely to support the candidature of Kodikunil Suresh for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker during the election on Wednesday, sources close to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told The Indian Express.

Sources said the decision was taken after a late-night discussion between Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee. This conversation, sources said, took place following a meeting held by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge with INDIA bloc members.

“The ice was finally broken late at night. The Congress admitted that TMC should have been consulted properly. Even we could have suggested some names. All is well now. We have decided to support the Congress candidate,” a source close to Mamata Banerjee said.

On Tuesday, the Trinamool Congress kept the INDIA bloc on tenterhooks over supporting its candidate for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post, claiming it had not been “consulted”. A series of meetings and conversations between leaders of the two parties took place throughout the day over this.

The INDIA bloc meeting held by Kharge also suggested that the Opposition would not push for voting on the Speaker’s election as it did not have the numbers. However, the Trinamool agreeing to support the Congress candidate gives the INDIA bloc a much-needed boost given that even the NDA has been in touch with the Mamata-led party through Tuesday to garner support for Om Birla.

At the meeting, attended by TMC MPs Derek O’Brien and Kalyan Banerjee, a consensus was also reached among INDIA bloc constituents for better coordination on such issues. Separately, Rahul Gandhi had a 20-minute-long conversation over the phone with TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee.

However, till late Tuesday, the TMC had not made its stand on backing the