NDA backs 'Independent' Shekhawat

New Delhi: The NDA, the country’s main Opposition alliance, has decided to support Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat as an independent candidate in the July 19 Presidential election.

Shekhawat was the best candidate for the job and as Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman worked "entirely beyond party affiliations and with impeccable secular credentials," said former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee after an alliance meeting on Monday.

"It is our unanimous view that the most qualified and suitable candidate for this high office is only Bhairon Singh Shekhawat," Vajpayee said. "He combines a lifetime’s experience of dedicated public service with rare qualities of head and heart."

"Convinced of this, the NDA is unanimously of the view that Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, as a non-party and an independent candidate, would be the most appropriate choice."

NDA convenor George Fernandes was confident that Shekhawat would win, saying arithmetic is not always static. "We know where we are," he said.

Asked whether the election will be a repeat of 1969, he said: "We will see." He was referring to the 1969 Presidential elections when Independent candidate V V Giri, backed by Indira Gandhi, had defeated the Congress' official candidate Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy.

NDA doesn't have the numbers

The numbers don’t support Fernandes’ confidence though. In an electoral college of 10,98,882, the UPA and Left have 5,11,965 votes. The BSP, which has announced support for UPA candidate Pratibha Patil, has 58,300 votes.

Patil could easily get over 5.70 lakh votes if we combine the BSP's vote with the UPA. The NDA candidate is expected to bag only 3,54,689 votes, given the strength of BJP and its allies.

The unattached parties like AIADMK, Samajwadi Party, RLD, TDP, AGP and MDMK, which recently floated a ‘Third Front’, carry a total of 1,06,281 votes.

Even if the votes of the newly floated third front is counted with the NDA, it can garner only 4,60,970 votes, leaving it short by over one lakh votes as compared to the UPA candidate The remaining parties have around 67,647 votes.

The NDA’s political message by supporting Shekhawat is this: Patil is a thorough politician and a Congress leader and so cannot be considered a non-partisan candidate.

The Shiv Sena, an important party of the NDA, reserved its stand on backing Shekhawat, saying it will take a decision tomorrow. "The Shiv Sena will be taking a decision tomorrow, its foundation day," senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said.

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#President election #Bhairon Singh Shekhawat #NDA