Vice Presidential election: Gopal Krishna Gandhi refuses to contest

New Delhi: Former West Bengal governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi on Sunday refused to contest the Vice-Presidential election saying he did not want to.

The refusal came as a setback for Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee who was keen on his candidature.

The UPA on Saturday nominated incumbent Hamid Ansari for a second term at the post.

The refusal has come as a setback for Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee who was keen on his candidature.

The BJP, meanwhile, is considering fielding Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav or Jaswant Singh for the post.

UPA split wide open

After the Presidential poll, the Vice Presidential election has once again exposed the squabbles within the UPA, with ally Trinamool Congress yet again claiming to be "undecided" on the ruling coalition's nominee for the post - incumbent Hamid Ansari.

UPA's newfound crisis manager Home Minister P Chidambaram had said that Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee - the duo that gave the UPA 48 hours of sleeplessness during the process of choosing its Presidential nominee - were on board this time as well as they discussed Hamid Ansari's candidature.

Amidst the squabbles, the Congress has refused to comment on whether the events will make the TMC's position untenable within the alliance. The fact, however, is that there will be more embarrassment in store for the government once the party makes up its mind next week on its Vice Presidential candidate.

Apart from the Trinamool Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) too skipped the recent UPA dinner, with some suggesting that party supremo Sharad Pawar was upset at not being made official number two of the government, despite his years of seniority.

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