06-10-2007, 06:01 AM
New update form Pioneer, June 10, 2007
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Prez names for today: Vora & a dark horse
Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
<b>The fierce opposition by the Left and NCP to Home Minister Shivraj Patil's candidature as UPA Presidential nominee has revived the confusion in the ruling alliance amid indications that in case of a showdown between the Congress and its allies, AICC treasurer Motilal Vora could spring back into the reckoning. A 'dark horse' can also not be ruled out.</b>
If it is going to be a choice between Patil and Vora, the Left and the NCP would rather accept the latter, NCP sources said.
<b>The Left and NCP leaders have already conveyed their objections to the Congress about Patil's candidature. They are expected to take a unified stand on the issue after CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat returns to Delhi on Monday night.</b>
While the NCP and CPI are ready to go to any extent to stall Patil's candidature, much will depend on the stand taken by the CPI(M).<b> If the CPI(M) refuses to succumb to Congress pressure, party president Sonia Gandhi may have to come up with new names. Since Patil is Sonia's personal choice and the Congress has maintained that the allies cannot dictate terms on the name of the candidate, the week ahead could see serious a serious rift in the UPA over the issue.</b> ?
By drafting Vora along with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the team to develop a consensus among the UPA allies on the name of Patil, the Congress tried to signal to the allies that these two aspirants were formally out of the presidential race.
<b>The Left and NCP leaders ask that if they could accept Congress' reluctance to back someone like Mukherjee, why should the Congress expect them to support a person who was not acceptable to them? "We still feel Mukherjee is the best person for the post of President. If the Congress agrees on his name, there will be no problem," a Left leader said.</b>
At the same time, the Left and NCP leaders are not willing to accept the Congress' assertion that nominating the Presidential candidate is its sole prerogative.
<b>"The Congress should change its mindset. "They can't treat their allies like domestic servants," a senior UPA leader said, adding that "we are not contesting that the President's post should go to the Congress, but the party can't thrust any Tom, Dick or Harry on us."</b>
Even though the Left and the NCP are ready to accept Vora, the Congress leadership feels that he does not fit the bill on two counts: <b>He lacks sophistication and is not anglicised. Sources said, the Congress does not feel that Vora can handle such a high-level assignment which would require an interaction with top foreign dignitaries.</b>
However, the Left and NCP camps think this is a ruse to install a puppet President who can dance to the Congress tune. <b>The allies feel that the role of the President would be crucial in the next General Election where a fractured verdict is not being ruled out.</b>
Hence, they say they cannot risk supporting a man being propped up for his unquestionable " loyalty" to 10 Janpath.
Though Vora, too, is a Sonia loyalist, he may suit NCP chief <b>Sharad Pawar who has reason to feel that elevating Patil as President is a Congress design to cut down his (Pawar's) political size in Maharashtra.
Even though the Congress leaders have been pointing out that Pawar has always succumbed to pressure in the past, the Left stand is cause for serious concern for them.</b>
The Left leaders have opposed Patil's name because they suspect his secular credentials and doubt his administrative capability, which is crucial for a coalition regime.
Sources said that it was not the NCP but the Left which has questioned Patil's silence at the time of the installation of the Veer Savarkar statue in Parliament in 2003.
Patil had attended a meeting convened by the then Lok Sabha speaker Manohar Joshi in 2002 where the decision of erecting Savarkar's statue was taken.
<b>While the NCP does not want to rake up the Savarkar issue because of its repercussions on Maharashtra politics, the Left is determined to use this to paint him with a " saffron" brush.</b>
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> Prez names for today: Vora & a dark horse
Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
<b>The fierce opposition by the Left and NCP to Home Minister Shivraj Patil's candidature as UPA Presidential nominee has revived the confusion in the ruling alliance amid indications that in case of a showdown between the Congress and its allies, AICC treasurer Motilal Vora could spring back into the reckoning. A 'dark horse' can also not be ruled out.</b>
If it is going to be a choice between Patil and Vora, the Left and the NCP would rather accept the latter, NCP sources said.
<b>The Left and NCP leaders have already conveyed their objections to the Congress about Patil's candidature. They are expected to take a unified stand on the issue after CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat returns to Delhi on Monday night.</b>
While the NCP and CPI are ready to go to any extent to stall Patil's candidature, much will depend on the stand taken by the CPI(M).<b> If the CPI(M) refuses to succumb to Congress pressure, party president Sonia Gandhi may have to come up with new names. Since Patil is Sonia's personal choice and the Congress has maintained that the allies cannot dictate terms on the name of the candidate, the week ahead could see serious a serious rift in the UPA over the issue.</b> ?
By drafting Vora along with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the team to develop a consensus among the UPA allies on the name of Patil, the Congress tried to signal to the allies that these two aspirants were formally out of the presidential race.
<b>The Left and NCP leaders ask that if they could accept Congress' reluctance to back someone like Mukherjee, why should the Congress expect them to support a person who was not acceptable to them? "We still feel Mukherjee is the best person for the post of President. If the Congress agrees on his name, there will be no problem," a Left leader said.</b>
At the same time, the Left and NCP leaders are not willing to accept the Congress' assertion that nominating the Presidential candidate is its sole prerogative.
<b>"The Congress should change its mindset. "They can't treat their allies like domestic servants," a senior UPA leader said, adding that "we are not contesting that the President's post should go to the Congress, but the party can't thrust any Tom, Dick or Harry on us."</b>
Even though the Left and the NCP are ready to accept Vora, the Congress leadership feels that he does not fit the bill on two counts: <b>He lacks sophistication and is not anglicised. Sources said, the Congress does not feel that Vora can handle such a high-level assignment which would require an interaction with top foreign dignitaries.</b>
However, the Left and NCP camps think this is a ruse to install a puppet President who can dance to the Congress tune. <b>The allies feel that the role of the President would be crucial in the next General Election where a fractured verdict is not being ruled out.</b>
Hence, they say they cannot risk supporting a man being propped up for his unquestionable " loyalty" to 10 Janpath.
Though Vora, too, is a Sonia loyalist, he may suit NCP chief <b>Sharad Pawar who has reason to feel that elevating Patil as President is a Congress design to cut down his (Pawar's) political size in Maharashtra.
Even though the Congress leaders have been pointing out that Pawar has always succumbed to pressure in the past, the Left stand is cause for serious concern for them.</b>
The Left leaders have opposed Patil's name because they suspect his secular credentials and doubt his administrative capability, which is crucial for a coalition regime.
Sources said that it was not the NCP but the Left which has questioned Patil's silence at the time of the installation of the Veer Savarkar statue in Parliament in 2003.
Patil had attended a meeting convened by the then Lok Sabha speaker Manohar Joshi in 2002 where the decision of erecting Savarkar's statue was taken.
<b>While the NCP does not want to rake up the Savarkar issue because of its repercussions on Maharashtra politics, the Left is determined to use this to paint him with a " saffron" brush.</b>
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