KOLKATA: Veteran TMC MP Saugata Roy on Friday said that he and other parliamentarians of his party have received a letter from the Bengal BJP leadership, seeking their support for NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu.
Roy, in the same breath, also said that lawmakers of his party would vote for joint non-BJP candidate Yashwant Sinha.
Murmu, who had been touring states for electioneering, is scheduled to visit Kolkata to meet BJP MPs and MLAs from West Bengal.
"We have received a letter signed by BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar and Leader of the opposition in West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari, urging us (TMC MPs) to support NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu for presidential polls. They have claimed that Murmu's victory is certain, and we all should vote for her to strengthen democratic and constitutional norms," Roy said.
The veteran TMC MP, however, ruled out any possibility of backing Murmu.
"Why should we support the NDA candidate when the opposition parties together have fielded Yashwant Sinha? We will vote for Sinha," he said.
Last month, Majumdar and Adhikari had written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, urging her to support Murmu in the July 18 presidential poll.
The Bengal BJP had in June announced that it would write to all the TMC MPs and MLAs, seeking their support for the NDA nominee.
Last week, Banerjee had said that Murmu, a tribal BJP leader from Odisha, could have been a consensus candidate had the saffron party discussed with the opposition parties before fielding her.