The Hindu : Front Page : UPA managers in countdown mode

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007
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UPA managers in countdown mode

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: United Progressive Alliance managers got into countdown mode on Tuesday to ensure that all preparations were in place for its Presidential candidate Pratibha Patil.

With the electoral college “overwhelmingly loaded” in favour of Ms. Patil, who has the backing of the Left parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party too, the poll team, led by Union Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, was at work to ensure that observers would take their positions in all the States and Union Territories.

Mr. Dasmunsi was confident that Ms. Patil would get over 6.31 lakh votes as against the 3.14 lakh that the Opposition-backed independent candidate, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, was likely to poll. Ms. Patil’s camp received a boost on Tuesday with the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference coming out in her support.

The United National Progressive Alliance has already announced its decision to abstain from voting in the Presidential election, to be held on July 19. The alliance, along with the yet-to-decide Trinamool Congress, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and the Janata Dal (Secular), account for some 1.30 lakh votes. According to indications available here, these parties were also expected to abstain.

With the Election Commission having asked the electoral college, consisting of members of Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies, to carry with them identification papers, additional instructions were issued to the poll managers. According to them, some 50 MPs had been permitted to vote in the State Assemblies.

Ms. Patil, who has toured over 20 States to interact with members of the electoral college, has also written to them once again to deny as “false and baseless” the many “malicious allegations” against her and her family.

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