BJP says Mamata still part of NDA

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Friday claimed its ties with the Trinmool Congress were intact, a day after party chief Mamata Banerjee's reported remarks that she was not with the NDA.

Senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra told that Banerjee's party colleague Dinesh Trivedi has denied the news report attributed to the Trinamool chief.

"He has conveyed to us that that the news report is incorrect," Malhotra said adding the Trinamool Congress remained a constituent of the NDA.

In July, Banerjee, however, rejected the saffron party's call for support to NDA-backed presidential candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

The Shiv Sena also broke ranks with the BJP, its oldest ideological ally, and instead voted for UPA-Left candidate Pratibha Patil.

The BJP, who party general secretary Arun Jaitley last week declared had launched itself into an election mode, is exploring options for new alliances, insiders say.