The Hindu : Front Page : Ansari elected Vice-President

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 11, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Ansari elected Vice-President

Vinay Kumar

He scores a comfortable victory by securing 455 out of 762 votes polled

— PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT

new job, new hopes: Mohammad Hamid Ansari acknowledges greetings from well-wishers after his election as Vice-President in New Delhi on Friday.

NEW DELHI: Mohammad Hamid Ansari, the common candidate of the United Progressive Alliance and the Left parties, was on Friday declared elected as the country’s new Vice-President. In a triangular contest, Mr. Ansari scored a comfortable victory securing 455 out of the 762 votes polled.

Mr. Ansari was pitted against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee, Najma Heptulla, and the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) candidate, Rasheed Masood.

Mr. Ansari’s victory was a foregone conclusion, considering the arithmetic of the polls in which the ruling UPA-Left combine, along with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), had the support of 425 members. But Mr. Ansari notched up an impressive victory by bagging 455 votes, though he needed only 377 votes for emerging a clear winner.

Soon after the results were declared by Rajya Sabha Secretary-General Yogendra Narain in Parliament House, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi drove down to Mr. Ansari’s nearby camp-residence at South Avenue and congratulated him. The Prime Minister said that it “is the victory of great merit and secular values.”

Sonia thanks allies

Looking pleased with the result, Ms. Gandhi admitted that the ruling combine was a little tense during the Presidential polls last month but in the Vice-Presidential elections the victory was achieved in an easy manner. She thanked the UPA allies, including BSP chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, for extending their support to Mr. Ansari.

Mr. Ansari said he was delighted with the result. “I realise that the responsibility entrusted to me is important and I will discharge my duties to the best of my abilities. My victory is also the result of excellent teamwork,” he said.

While announcing the result, Mr. Narain said Ms. Heptullah, former Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, got 222 votes, Mr. Masood, a Lok Sabha member of the Samajwadi Party and Third Front nominee, polled 75 votes while 10 votes were declared invalid.

Mr. Ansari, a former diplomat, will be the 13th Vice-President of India. He will also be the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Mr. Narain, who was the Returning Officer for the Vice-Presidential elections, said a high turnout of 97.31 per cent was recorded during the poll. The electoral college of 783 electors is made of all the members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including the nominated members.

JD(S), TRS abstain

The Janata Dal (Secular) and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi with four MPs each abstained from voting and 13 others were absentees.

Among those who failed to turn up for casting their votes included four from the Bharatiya Janata Party , one each from the Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen. One independent member and another nominated member did not show up for voting.

Prominent absentees were film stars Dharmendra (BJP) and Govinda of the Congress. Laxman Singh, Jana Krishnamurthy and Yogi Adityanath of the BJP also failed to turn up. While the NDA was counting on the support of 240 MPs, the Third Front was banking upon the support of 81 MPs. D. Raja of the CPI and Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, exercised their franchise for the first time in such an election.

During his career spanning over 45 years, Mr. Ansari has handled different assignments. He was co-chairman of the India-U.K. Round Table. He was also a member of the National Security Advisory Board and was heading the National Minorities Commission till now.

Born in Kolkata on April 1, 1937, Mr. Ansari hails from Ghazipur in U.P. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1984. He is the grand nephew of Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, who was president of the Indian National Congress in 1927 (Madras Session).

Related Stories:
A fine man for the job
Articles by Hamid Ansari

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page