As race for Raisina hots up, Oppn may seek Sena, Akali Dal backing
UNITED FRONT Parties also keen to open a channel of communication with Patnaik’s BJD
The Opposition camp may try to knock on the doors of BJP’s biggest ally Shiv Sena and another disgruntled NDA partner — Shiromani Akali Dal — for possible support for the upcoming presidential polls.
With both NDA and the Congress-led Opposition falling short of the majority, the Opposition will try to rope in allies, even as it has almost given up on the faction-ridden AIADMK. According to a senior Congress strategist, the party feels AIADMK is in the “firm grip” of the ruling NDA.
“The support from Sena and Akalis will depend on who our candidate is,” CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, indicating that in 2007, the Sena had distanced itself from the NDA to back Congress’ Pratibha Patil.
The Opposition leaders, led by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, are expected to meet later this month to discuss possible presidential candidates.
The Sena, which has distanced itself from the BJP on several issues, has nearly 26,000 votes in the election for the highest office. During the budget session, the party even joined hands with Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to march to Rashtrapati Bhavan against demonetisation.
The Opposition camp is also keen to open a channel of communication with Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief Naveen Patnaik, who is considered a key fence sitter. A senior non-Congress leader has been entrusted with the responsibility of negotiating with him. The party is banking on the BJD, which took the lead to announce PA Sangma’s candidature in the 2012 presidential poll, as it has turned aggressive towards the BJP.
Patnaik was in Delhi last month and met his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee — a vocal anti-BJP leader — to discuss presidential polls.
The NDA is short of around 18,000 votes in the poll. If it can get the entire vote of the AIADMK (59,000 votes) or BJD (32,000 votes), the nominee of the ruling dispensation can sail through. On the other hand, the Opposition (3,92,000 votes) has an uphill task to defeat the NDA candidate.
“Whether we win or lose, we will put up a candidate and try to close the margin as much as possible,” said a Congress strategist.
Top sources in the Opposition camp said if the NDA government proposes the name of President Pranab Mukherjee, who may have a very slim chance for a second term, as the next President, Congress and partners will not oppose it.
“Certainly, being an incumbent president, he will not be inclined to fight an election. But if there is a consensus around his name, it will be a different situation,” said an opposition party leader.
The Congress, on its own, is unlikely to propose his name, said a senior party strategist.
The election has to be held before July 24, when President Mukherjee’s term ends.
A woman disowned her own child to save her election as a panchayat member. But a DNA test nailed her lie and she now stands disqualified.
Last week, a bench of justice Kurien Joseph and justice R Banumathi dismissed Anita Eknath Hatkar’s petition challenging disqualification proceedings initiated against her on the grounds that she had three children.
Hatkar was elected as a member of Chichondi village panchayat in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.
The complainant — Prahlad Ahvad — took a plea before the authority concerned that Anita was ineligible because she flouted the rules governing panchayat elections. She was a mother of three children, the third one having been born after the cut-off date fixed by the authorities.
The additional collector, Ahmednagar, dismissed the complaint. However, the Bombay high court allowed an appeal against the additional collector’s order and declared Anita’s election void.
Aggrieved with the proceedings, Anita moved the top court. During a hearing on December 5, her counsel discarded the complaint. On her instructions, he submitted that the child was not born to her.
But Ahvad’s lawyers — Sandeep S Deshmukh and Nar Hari Singh — insisted that a DNA test be done, which the woman agreed to undergo and the court ordered to be conducted in eight weeks. Until the report came, the top court stayed her disqualification.
A report from Mumbai’s forensic laboratory placed before the court last week revealed that Anita had not spoken the truth. The third child was indeed that of Anita and her husband, prompting SC to dismiss her appeal.
THE WOMAN WAS A MOTHER OF 3 CHILDREN, THE THIRD ONE HAVING BEEN BORN AFTER
THE CUTOFF DATE