Mamata's stand very fair: Jaipal

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader S Jaipal Reddy on Sunday described as “very fair” TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's stand that a decision on the opposition's prime ministerial candidate should be taken after the outcome of the 2019 polls.

He also asserted that the Congress “will cross the bridge” when it comes to it. Reddy's remarks came days after sources said a broad consensus has been reached among various opposition parties to unitedly take on the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and a decision on the prime ministerial candidate will be taken after the results. 

“I think Mamata Banerjee has clarified that such questions will be decided upon after the polls. I think that is a very fair position, I won't differ from her,” Reddy said when asked if the Opposition parties will be able to come to a consensus on Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate. 

“As for the Congress, our leader is Rahul,” he asserted. Banerjee had said there would be a collective leadership of the Opposition front to take on the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, indicating that the proposed coalition may not name a prime ministerial candidate ahead of the polls. 

Reddy also predicted that in terms of strength of the legislative party, the Congress tally was likely to go up by three to four times. Asked if this would make Gandhi the top contender for the PM's post, he said, “All those factors will be taken into consideration after the election."