Man behind the Mulayam, Mamata union

After losing an election in 2011, former West Bengal fisheries minister Kironmay Nanda’s star seemed to be falling until he emerged as a backroom mediator between his leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee.

Nanda was minister in the Left Front government for 29 years.

“The CPI(M) never gave me the honour that the Trinamool Congress did. Otherwise I could not have achieved what culminated in the Wednesday evening show,” said Nanda, 67.

“I was the first person who came to Writers’ Buildings and met Banerjee on invitation just after the UP polls. That was the beginning of a relationship between the Trinamool and Samajwadi Party, which will play a crucial role in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. I am happy to bring Yadav and Banerjee together,” he said from New Delhi.