Jul 22, 2007, 15:00 GMT
New Delhi, July 22 (IANS) Three Muslim candidates including a woman are now in the fray for the post of vice president, with the main opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) deciding Sunday to field former Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Najma Heptullah.
The ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and its Left allies Saturday announced former diplomat Hamid Ansari, 65, would be their candidate while the 'third front' United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) has already fielded Samajwadi Party MP Rasheed Masood, 60.
The decision to field Heptullah, 67, by the NDA came a day ahead of the closing of nominations for the Aug 10 election.
Unlike the presidential election in which all MPs and state legislators are eligible to vote, the electoral college for the vice presidential poll consists of only the 790 MPs. The UPA, the Left parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party - likely to go with them - have a clear majority.
As a result, neither the NDA candidate Heptullah nor the UNPA candidate Masood has much chance of becoming the next vice president, especially in a triangular contest, where the opposition votes will be split between them.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj announced: 'It was decided unanimously at the meeting of NDA leaders to nominate Najma Heptullah as the vice presidential candidate. The nomination will be filed at 12.30 p.m. tomorrow.'
The announcement came after a meeting at the residence of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It was attended by almost all NDA constituents except the Shiv Sena, BJP leader V.K. Malhotra told IANS.
Masood was the first candidate to file his nomination papers on July 20 accompanied by UNPA leaders - Telugu Desam Party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.
© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service
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