05-15-2007, 12:22 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Shekhawat emerges as non-Cong choice </b>
Pioneer.com
Rajeev Ranjan Roy | New Delhi
<b>BJP says contest imminent, mobilisation begins</b>
The battle for Raisina Hills appears to be developing into a keen contest, with the BJP leadership seriously considering pitching Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat as a candidate backed by the NDA and the non-UPA parties.
After preliminary consultations with NDA allies as well as other 'friends', the senior BJP leaders have conveyed the alliance's move to field him to take on the UPA nominee for the next President.Â
Sources said the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha LK Advani and his counterpart in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh have already conveyed to Shekhawat the 'consensus desire' of the NDA constituents that he should contest the Presidential poll.
The NDA's election strategy was discussed by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Advani and BJP chief Rajnath Singh. JD(U)'s Digvijay Singh, a former Union Minister and the sitting Rajya Sabha member from Bihar, is already in touch with the non-UPA and non-NDA parties as well as some constituents of the UPA to solicit support for Shekhawat.
<b>As Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Shekhawat enjoys the support of several leaders across the political parties, which qualify him to be a formidable claimant to the country's coveted post. According to BJP sources, the NDA leaders have unanimously approved of his candidature and a formal announcement would be made soon.</b>
The NDA strategists feel that personal charm and appeal of Shekhawat would earn him votes from across the parties.
<b>In the existing presidential electoral college,<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'> the NDA's actual vote count stands at 3.52 lakh and that of the UPA at 4.40 lakh. The rest of the votes belong to the Third Front parties like the Telugu Desam Party, Asom Gana Parishad and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti.</b></span>
<b>"Since these parties would not like to be seen as joining hands with the Congress, they would certainly find a better choice in Shekhawat, whose track record as the chairman of the Upper House is so excellent,"</b> a senior BJP functionary said.
As there is provision of secret voting in the presidential election,<b> the NDA strategists are also banking on cross-voting in favour of Shekhawat by some constituents of the UPA, including the Congress</b>. Sources said that he himself was in touch with the NDA leaders and 'others' as well to ensure his smooth entry into the Raisina Hills.
As things stand, if the Third Front allies vote for Shekhawat, the fight for India's top post would become a close contest between the UPA and the NDA. A lot would also depend on the move of BSP president Mayawati, who has not yet opened her presidential cards.
<b>At the moment, the experts feel that she would finally go for the Congress nominee if her choice is taken care of, but such a move would make the SP vote for Shekhawat. "It holds water in the case of many other parties," an NDA leader said.</b>
According to him, the formal announcement of Shekhawat's candidature would be made by next week after the Core Group of the BJP meets. "The Core Group meeting would be preceded by an NDA meeting to formally choose him as our candidate," he said
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Pioneer.com
Rajeev Ranjan Roy | New Delhi
<b>BJP says contest imminent, mobilisation begins</b>
The battle for Raisina Hills appears to be developing into a keen contest, with the BJP leadership seriously considering pitching Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat as a candidate backed by the NDA and the non-UPA parties.
After preliminary consultations with NDA allies as well as other 'friends', the senior BJP leaders have conveyed the alliance's move to field him to take on the UPA nominee for the next President.Â
Sources said the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha LK Advani and his counterpart in the Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh have already conveyed to Shekhawat the 'consensus desire' of the NDA constituents that he should contest the Presidential poll.
The NDA's election strategy was discussed by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Advani and BJP chief Rajnath Singh. JD(U)'s Digvijay Singh, a former Union Minister and the sitting Rajya Sabha member from Bihar, is already in touch with the non-UPA and non-NDA parties as well as some constituents of the UPA to solicit support for Shekhawat.
<b>As Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Shekhawat enjoys the support of several leaders across the political parties, which qualify him to be a formidable claimant to the country's coveted post. According to BJP sources, the NDA leaders have unanimously approved of his candidature and a formal announcement would be made soon.</b>
The NDA strategists feel that personal charm and appeal of Shekhawat would earn him votes from across the parties.
<b>In the existing presidential electoral college,<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'> the NDA's actual vote count stands at 3.52 lakh and that of the UPA at 4.40 lakh. The rest of the votes belong to the Third Front parties like the Telugu Desam Party, Asom Gana Parishad and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti.</b></span>
<b>"Since these parties would not like to be seen as joining hands with the Congress, they would certainly find a better choice in Shekhawat, whose track record as the chairman of the Upper House is so excellent,"</b> a senior BJP functionary said.
As there is provision of secret voting in the presidential election,<b> the NDA strategists are also banking on cross-voting in favour of Shekhawat by some constituents of the UPA, including the Congress</b>. Sources said that he himself was in touch with the NDA leaders and 'others' as well to ensure his smooth entry into the Raisina Hills.
As things stand, if the Third Front allies vote for Shekhawat, the fight for India's top post would become a close contest between the UPA and the NDA. A lot would also depend on the move of BSP president Mayawati, who has not yet opened her presidential cards.
<b>At the moment, the experts feel that she would finally go for the Congress nominee if her choice is taken care of, but such a move would make the SP vote for Shekhawat. "It holds water in the case of many other parties," an NDA leader said.</b>
According to him, the formal announcement of Shekhawat's candidature would be made by next week after the Core Group of the BJP meets. "The Core Group meeting would be preceded by an NDA meeting to formally choose him as our candidate," he said
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