Click to play videoNew Delhi: It's all set to be a Shekhawat vs Shekhawat contest in the 13th Presidential election.
Unfazed by the swelling numbers for the UPA after BSP's support to the ruling coalition, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is all set to enter the Presidential race as an independent candidate against UPA nominee Prathibha Patil, who too incidentally happens to be a Shekhawat by marriage.
Pratibha Patil is married to Devisingh Shekhawat of Losal Chhoti, barely 30 km from the Vice-President's village Khachariawas in Rajasthan.
“Her father-in-law left Losal nearly 70 years ago to start a business at Jalgaon. But more than two dozen members of the family still live at Losal,” said Devisingh’s cousin Bhagirath.
Patil's father-in-law had left Losal nearly 70 years ago to start a business at Jalgaon, Maharashtra. But more than two dozen members of the family still live at Losal.
Vice-President Shekhawat, on the other hand, grew up at Khachariawas, Rajasthan. Hours after the UPA named Prathibha Patil as their candidate, the Vice-President also made his intentions clear that he is not going to leave the field.
NDA on Presidency talks
He met former prime minister AB Vajpayee and other leaders of the Opposition alliance following BSP chief Mayawati's announcement, is 'all determined' to fight the election to the highest office.
"He is fully prepared," the NDA leader, who requested anonymity was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Shekhawat drove down to Vajpayee's residence for a hurriedly-convened meeting, attended by BJP leaders L K Advani, Rajnath Singh and Jaswant Singh and JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav.
The NDA, which was scheduled to hold a meeting on Friday on Presidential elections, postponed it for June 18.
"The NDA will meet on June 18 and take a decision," the BJP chief told reporters in brief remarks when asked who the opposition alliance would field or support as a candidate
for Presidency.
"News reports suggest Shekhawat wants to contest (these elections) as an independent," Singh said.
He said Vajpayee has been authorised by the NDA to decide on the alliance's stand in this regard.
On Tuesday, the BJP accused the Congress of using tactics to install a loyalist of its chief Sonia Gandhi in the highest office as Mayawati announced her support to the UPA's candidate in the fray.
Muslim support for Shekhawat
As the race for the Presidential poll is intensifying each passing day, a delegation of Muslim leaders met Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday, and urged all political parties to support him.
Figures stacked in the Presidential race: | |
Congress | 280,000 |
| UPA allies | 141,000 |
| Left | 111,000 |
| UPA total | 532,000 |
| BSP | 57,200 |
| NDA, SP, Others | 511,000 |
The delegation was led by the President of the All-India Imam Organisation, Maulana Jamil Ahmed Iliyasi.
Iliyasi later in a press release t said that Shekhawat rightly deserved to be the President.
"He is an exceptional statesman of towering stature who is loved by all the people of India irrespective of their caste, creed or religion. He is not only firm believer in secularism, but he has always practised it in letter and spirit," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
Lalu won’t support to friend Shekhawat
Last week the RJD snubbed media speculation that party supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav could vote for Bhairon Singh Shekhawat on account of his “personal rapport” with him and said that would not happen under any circumstances.
“We will go along with the UPA-left candidate, be it anybody, but not Mr Shekhawat,” Party Vice President Raghuvansh Pratap Singh was quoted as saying by news agency UNI
Singh said The Party had high regards for BJP veterans Atal Bihari Vajpyaee and L K Advani, but it did not mean that they would support the party's candidate.
“The communal BJP is number one enemy party for us,” he added.
The RJD leader also claimed that not even a single vote of the UPA would split even if Shekhawat chose to contest as an independent candidate.
“We cannot support any candidate who is directly or indirectly sponsored by the BJP,” he was quoted as saying.
PREZ POLLS: WHO VOTES AND HOW |
 The President of India is elected by an electoral college, comprising the Members of both the Houses of Parliament as well as the MLAs of all state Assemblies. |
| The total number of members in the Electoral College for the Presidential elections in 2007 is 4896 (233 Rajya Sabha MPs + 543 Lok Sabha MPs + 4,120 State MLAs). |
| However, unlike any other election, the value of votes of the voters are different here. While the value of votes of each MP is the same, the strength of a vote of an MLA is determined by way of proportional representation. |
| The MPs, too, have a specific value for each vote that is determined by dividing the total value of votes of all the states by the total number of elected members of Parliament (Lok Sabha 543 + Rajya Sabha 233). |
| The total value of votes of all members of each State Assembly is worked out by multiplying the number of elective seats in the Assembly by the number of votes for each member. |
| For instance, in case of Andhra Pradesh, since the total population (1971 Census) is 43,502,708 and the total number of elective seats in the Assembly 294, the number of votes for each member would be 43,502,708/1000 x 294 = 147.96 or 148. This means the value of each Andhra MLA's vote is 148. |
| Now multiplying that number with the number of elective seats can give the value of total votes for the all members of the House: 294x148 = 43,512. |
| The Constitution (Eighty-fourth) Amendment Act, 2001 provides that until the relevant population figures for the first census to be taken after the year 2026 have been published, the population of the states for the purposes of calculation of the value of votes for the Presidential Election shall mean the population as ascertained at the 1971-census. |
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
More on IBNLive Right Now
TOP NEWS
MOST SHARED
PHOTOGALLERY
