Pranab Mukherjee on two day visit to the Northeast

UPA Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee is on a two-day visit to the North East region to meet members of the electoral college as part of his country-wide campaign for the July 19 poll.

Mukherjee was received at the Lokopriyo Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport here today by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Assam Pradesh Congress president Bhubaneswar Kalita.

The Presidential nominee drove to a city hotel where he was scheduled to hold discussions with the Chief Ministers of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh along with senior ministers of Manipur, Assam's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nilamani Sen Deka told reporters here. Manipur's Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh was unable to come today as the state assembly was in session, Deka said.

Mukherjee would address the media in the evening before interacting with MLAs and MPs of the North East belonging to Congress and UPA constituents at the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra here. Mukherjee will leave for Dimapur tomorrow to meet Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphu Rio before winding off his North East visit to Agartala in Tripura tomorrow.

The former finance minister was also scheduled to hold separate meetings with leaders of Assam's principal opposition party All India United Democratic Front, an UPA constituent, and Congress's state coalition partner Bodoland People's Front (BPF).

Another prominent opposition party, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), has already announced its support for Mukherjee's rival P A Sangma.