 "Mamata defends inclusion of celebrities in candidate list")
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today put up a strong defence against criticism that she stressed on glamour and star power while deciding the party's list of Lok Sabha poll candidates, saying she wanted them to have a say in national politics.
TMC's list of candidates, which contained names of several film and cultural personalities, was criticised by Left parties and Congress, who alleged that the party banked on stars at the expense of grass-roots leaders to see it through the general elections. Banerjee countered this by saying that they had been nominated because she wanted them "to have a say in national politics. The new faces have been inducted to give a truly representative look to the list of candidates".
The West Bengal Chief Minister was talking to reporters at the NSCB Airport before leaving for Delhi where she would address a joint rally tomorrow with anti-graft activist Anna Hazare at Ram Lila Ground to kickstart the campaign for TMC candidates.
TMC's list of candidates, which contained names of several film and cultural personalities, was criticised by Left parties and Congress, who alleged that the party banked on stars at the expense of grass-roots leaders to see it through the general elections. Banerjee countered this by saying that they had been nominated because she wanted them "to have a say in national politics. The new faces have been inducted to give a truly representative look to the list of candidates".
The West Bengal Chief Minister was talking to reporters at the NSCB Airport before leaving for Delhi where she would address a joint rally tomorrow with anti-graft activist Anna Hazare at Ram Lila Ground to kickstart the campaign for TMC candidates.