Sonia, Manmohan to meet President Patil to stake claim

New Delhi With a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet President Pratibha Patil at 5 PM on Wednesday to stake claim to form the Government. m_id_80193_upa_meet

This was decided unanimously at a meeting of the leaders of the United Progressive Alliance in which Gandhi was re-elected its Chairperson.

At a meeting of the Congress and its pre-poll allies at her residence, Gandhi’s name was proposed by DMK chief M Karunanidhi and seconded by Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee.

TC, with 19 MPs, and DMK with 18 are the two large constituents of the UPA coalition after Congress which has won 216 seats. The coalition has already received support of a large number of parties and it has now the backing of around 315 MPs, much higher than the required 272 for a majority in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

She said Gandhi and Singh would meet the President at their convenience to stake claim.

Banerjee said she had suggested that there should be a Common Minimum Agenda for which a committee should be formed. She expressed concern over falling jobs and said there should be a relationship between industry and agriculture to protect employment.

She also said that work for all and food for all should be the guiding principle for the new government.

Earlier, a fresh from the spectacular victory in the Lok Sabha polls, the meeting saw Gandhi telling Congress workers to put the party before self, remain disciplined and united to emerge even stronger in the future.

The UPA’s tally in the new Lok Sabha soared by 54 to reach 315 mark, far above the magic figure of 272, as it received unexpected bonus of support from BSP and SP besides some other parties and independents. Asked about expectations from the new government, Farooq Abdullah said his, National Conference, party has never raised with the Congress the issue of getting a cabinet portfolio for himself.

“We have never raised this issue. We have extended unconditional support,” Abdullah said. Trinamool leader Mamta Banerjee too spoke in a similar vein. “We have never asked anything. We don’t want anything. We want a stable government,” she told reporters here.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, Rahul Gandhi, A K Antony also took part in the discussions. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to call on President Pratibh Patil later today to stake claim to form the next government.

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