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Prez Poll day: Pratibha likely to sail smoothly
Published on Thu, Jul 19, 2007 at 00:02, Updated on Thu, Jul 19, 2007 at 11:09 in Nation section
Tags: Presidential Polls, Pratibha Patil , New Delhi
NEXT BIG THING: Patil's all set to be India's first woman president leaving little hope for Shekhawat.
Other stories in the section:
After Vienna victory, it's time to face the nation
What does this deal mean for India and who will ultimately benefit from it?
New Delhi: Hope floats, but not for Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat with his dream of becoming the President is nearing a sad end.
He became an independent to shed off his saffron leanings and get votes from non-NDA parties.
In the end, though, the NDA itself is not united in backing him. Shiv Sena, the oldest NDA ally is supporting the UPA nominee Pratibha Patil.
Deve Gowda's JDS, whose son Kumaraswamy became Karanataka's Chief Minister with BJP support, is abstaining from the polls.
Meanwhile, Mamtaa Banerjee's Trinamool Congress has also decided to abstain from the voting, saying Shekhawat is not their first choice.
The TRS which walked out of the UPA last year, is also unwilling to back Shekhawat.
"We tried our best, but it seems it didn’t work out in the end,” said BJP spokesperson Sushma Swaraj.
While the NDA's campaign seems to have floundered, the long list of accusations including this latest CD on her brother's alleged involvement in a murder, seems to have had no impact on the UPA nominee Pratibha Patil.
With the Left and the UPA strongly backing her, she seems to be a certain winner. She has 6,31,464 votes in her favour, a lead of 3 lakh votes over her rival.
"All the charges made in the last 15 days have turned out to be nothing but mud-slinging," said Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, Priya Ranjan Das Munshi.
So what will 2007 be remembered for, will it be remembered for the country getting its first woman president or will it be remembered for the dirtiest election campaign ever seen in the battle for presidency?
Who will vote which way?
- J&K's Panthers Party to support Shekhawat
- Deve Gowda-led JD(S) to abstain from voting in Prez poll
- UNPA ally Asom Gana Parishad to abstain from voting
- Mizo National Front, Mizoram Cong Party will not vote
- Trinamool Congress decides to abstain from voting
- United National Progressive Alliance parties to abstain
- Shiv Sena to vote in favour of Pratibha Patil
- TRS unwilling to back Shekhawat
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Total Comments: 2
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Its just unfortunate that so many parties are not voting. When these elected representatives do not discharge their duty who
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It's a shame to the nation!
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