NEW DELHI: Having just tricked Mamata Banerjee into a confrontation with Congress, Mulayam Singh Yadav is set to rub it in by holding the Samajwadi Party's national executive in Kolkata on July 10-11.
The grand SP meeting in the heart of Bengal could be provocative in the aftermath of TMC's presidential blunder. The SP chief is seen to have used Mamata's rage against Congress to enhance his political value for the UPA. While it invited charges like "betrayal", the nonchalant Yadav chieftain rubbished them as if nothing had happened.
Sources said there was no indication of a rethink on the venue after Friday's developments. While the event is still around a month away, it is to be seen how the Bengal CM reacts when it happens.
In a rebellious turn, Mamata Banerjee joined hands with Mulayam Singh to reject the Congress shortlist of Pranab Mukherjee and Hamid Ansari for the presidential poll. While that was provocation enough since she claimed the names were given to her by Sonia Gandhi, the TMC chief provoked the senior ally by suggesting PM Manmohan Singh and APJ Abdul Kalam for the top post. The plan came unstuck because Mulayam Singh, with his trademark pragmatism, did a U-turn.
SP sources said the Kolkata meet could see partymen fire at Rajya Sabha MP Kiranmoy Nanda for leading Mulayam Singh up the wrong path of confrontation with the Centre. A senior SP leader said, "We should be mindful of opening a front with the Centre, especially when we need funds for UP. It was wrong for our party leader to have done the TMC's bidding with Mulayam Singh."
Nanda, a former minister in the Left government in Bengal, played the mediator in bringing Mamata and Mulayam together. The anger is directed against him because he is seen as influenced by his "local angle" in suggesting a policy move which made SP appear in league with the NDA.
Post-Friday, Mamata Banerjee kept her famed temper in check. Asked if she felt betrayed by the SP chief, Mamata said, "He is a political leader, I don't want to use such words." According to observers, Mamata does not want to antagonize a regional satrap with whom she hopes to play a major role in Delhi politics after 2014.
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