June 24, 2007
Presidential poll:
Shekhawat to File Papers Monday
New Delhi
Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat will file his nomination
papers Monday for the July 19 presidential election as an
independent supported by the opposition National Democratic Alliance
(NDA), whose leaders met over dinner Sunday to plan their strategy
for the poll.
Also on Sunday, there were indications that Pratibha Patil, the
nominee of India's ruling coalition, could get some votes from a
fractured opposition. And, the Congress that heads that alliance
brushed aside the NDA's reported intention to seek a conscience vote
in Shekhawat's favour.
Shekhawat is expected to file his papers at 11.30 a.m. Monday, the
32nd anniversary of the infamous internal emergency declared by then
prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 to quell growing opposition to
her continuing in office following an adverse court verdict.
The numbers, however, seem overwhelmingly stacked against Shekhawat
in what is turning out to be a straight fight between him and Patil.
It was apparently to consider the various permutations and
combinations that the NDA bigwigs assembled for dinner at the
residence of former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani, whose
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leads the NDA.
Among those who attended the dinner were almost the entire BJP
national executive, NDA convenor George Fernandes, as also Sharad
Yadav and Digvijay Singh of Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Braj Kishore
Tripathi of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa of
the Akali Dal.
The Shiv Sena, the fifth constituent of the NDA, was conspicuous by
its absence. Sena chief Bal Thackeray is known to favour Patil since
this is the first time a Maharashtrian will be contesting the
presidential poll.
The Trinamool Congress of Mamata Banerjee that has had an off-and-on
relationship with the NDA but whose Dinesh Trivedi has been
attending alliance meetings on the presidential poll also stayed
away.
While the other opposition grouping, the eight-party United National
Progressive Alliance (UNPA), has rejected calls to back Shekhawat,
there are indications that some votes from one of its constituents,
the Samajwadi Party, might go to Patil.
Patil had filed her papers Saturday as the candidate of the ruling
Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and its Left allies.
Twelve independents have also filed the nominations although many do
not have the support of the mandatory 50 MPs or MLAs proposing and
seconding them.
The scrutiny of the nominations will take place July 2. The result
will be declared July 21.
If Patil, who enjoys majority support among the MPs and MLAs who
elect the country's president, wins the election, she will be
India's first woman head of state.
Congress managers claimed Sunday at least three Samajwadi Party MPs
- Chaudhry Munawwar Hasan, Mohammad Shahid Akhlaq and Shafiqur
Rehman Barq - have been contacting Congress leaders. This, they
said, was because there are conflicting reports in the Samajwadi
Party camp on who the party will ultimately back in the poll.
The three Muslim MPs seem to have a problem with the candidature of
Shekhawat, and sources said they prefer to vote against him.
Sources said by the time the campaign really picks up, many more MPs
from the UNPA might approach Congress leaders.
While none of the three MPs are currently here, Barq's secretarial
staff here said: "We know that under no circumstances can he vote
for Shekhawat."
With President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam opting out of the race for a
second term, MPs from the UNPA realise that they have eventually to
decide between Patil and Shekhawat.
Meanwhile, the opposition-fuelled dirt digging against Pratibha
Patil has become a full-fledged campaign, with SMS messages being
sent out from unlisted numbers.
The Congress Sunday deprecated this trend, even as it dismissed as
"misapplied" the NDA's reported intention to seek a conscience vote
in Shekhawat's favour, as had happened in the 1969 presidential
election.
"The phrase conscience vote is misapplied. In 1969, the ruling party
(Congress) was itself divided and a conscience vote was sought
because of this division," Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi
was quoted as saying.
In 1969, the Congress had named N. Sanjeeva Reddy as its official
nominee, but then prime minister Indira Gandhi opposed this and
fielded V.V. Giri, who was then the vice president.
Gandhi appealed for a conscience vote and Giri won. The Congress had
split thereafter.
As for the smear campaign against Patil, Singhvi said: "Stale
allegations have been reincarnated deliberately for mischievous
purposes"
Boloji.com is owned and managed by Boloji Media Inc Privacy Policy |
Disclaimer
No part of this Internet site may
be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
