The Hindu : Front Page : NDA leaders await decision of Shiv Sena

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 19, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

NDA leaders await decision of Shiv Sena

Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI: While detailing the efforts made by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to support President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for a second term , NDA spokesperson Sushma Swaraj said on Monday at the alliance meeting that Mr. Kalam was also the NDAR 17;s “first choice.”

She reminded reporters that a delegation led by Mr. Vajpayee and Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh had gone to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to request him to stand for a second term. But Mr. Kalam had indicated that he would do so only if there was unanimity on this and if he emerged as a consensus candidate.

“Even the NDA would not like a sitting President to contest. The United Progressive Alliance did not agree to a second term for him. There was no unanimity and the matter was over,” she said.

Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi made it plain at the meeting that the Sena would announce its decision on support for candidature of Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday. Janata Dal (United) leaders Sharad Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also wanted to await the Sena decision. Dinesh Trivedi of the Trinamool Congress sought time to enable his party to discuss the issue of supporting Mr. Shekhawat; and even BJP president Rajnath Singh is reported to have favoured waiting till after the Sena decision, according to some leaders who attended the meeting.

Pratibha criticised

However, it seems that Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh, NDA convener George Fernandes and Ms. Swaraj pushed the issue. Ms. Swaraj later described the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate Pratibha Patil as “low” in stature, talk of consensus by the UPA as “born out of fear [of defeat]” and the UPA’s argument on empowerment of women as “false”.

“Using the authority given to him earlier by the NDA [to take a decision on the Presidential candidate] Mr. Vajpayee had in advance prepared a statement that was adopted as a resolution at today’s meeting,” Ms. Swaraj said. She emphasised that Mr. Shekhawat would be an “independent candidate” supported by the NDA. Party leaders privately admitted that unless the Third Front came out in Mr. Shekhawat’s support victory was unlikely. There was a gap of almost two lakh votes between the UPA and the NDA. Party managers were worried about the ‘Maharashtrian for President’ sentiment in the Sena and even the dissensions within the BJP ranks in Rajasthan and Gujarat. But Ms. Swaraj was confident that Mr. Shekhawat’s appeal would cut across party lines and there would be voting across party lines.

To a question whether the NDA was openly encouraging cross-voting and horse-trading, Ms. Swaraj suggested that since the voting was by a secret ballot every voter in the electoral college was free to exercise a vote of conscience. On the NDA government ending the secret ballot for Rajya Sabha elections for encouraging “horse-trading” and “money-power,” Ms. Swaraj said “there was no comparison” between the two elections.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page