The Hindu : Shekhawat likely to be NDA candidate

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 16, 2002

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National

Shekhawat likely to be NDA candidate

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JULY 15. The former Rajasthan Chief Minister and senior BJP leader, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, is expected to be the National Democratic Alliance's candidate for the Vice-Presidential election next month.

Although the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, is expected to announce the name of the NDA candidate in the next two or three days, authoritative sources in the Government were categorical that Mr. Shekhawat would be the candidate, even as the Left and the Congress began scouting for a suitable person as the joint Opposition candidate.

The sources said the final announcement would be made after Mr. Vajpayee completed the process of consulting the two supporting parties, the Telugu Desam and the Bahujan Samaj Party, as also the allies in the NDA.

The Prime Minister would also speak to the Leader of the Opposition, Sonia Gandhi, the CPI(M) Parliamentary Party leader, Somnath Chatterjee, and the Samajwadi Party chief, Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The sources said even though it was certain that the Congress and the Left, along with other Opposition parties, would field a candidate, the Government preferred to carry forward the exercise of having made an attempt to arrive at a consensus.

There are indications that the Opposition may opt for a Dalit candidate to prove a point since the Government did not give the President, K.R. Narayanan, a second term and to get the support of the influential Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Parliamentary Forum.

Efforts are on in the Opposition camp to shortlist candidates for the Vice- Presidential poll. The CPI(M) general secretary, Harkishan Singh Surjeet, and the politburo member, Sitaram Yechury, were in touch with Ms. Gandhi and the senior Congress leader, Manmohan Singh. The aim was to find a candidate of stature, preferably outside the political stream. Once the choice was made, the Left and the Congress would sound other Opposition parties, sources in the Left said.

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