NDA Fields Jaswant Singh as Vice Presidential Candidate
posted on Jul 16, 2012 @ 2:23PM
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has chosen BJP senior leader Jaswant Singh as its for the vice Presidential elections to be held on 7 August, 2012. Hamid Ansari, who is currently the Vice President of India, is the UPA candidate.
Announcing the candidature of Jaswant Singh, the NDA said it had reservations over the re-nomination of Ansari, particularly the manner in which he conducted the Rajya Sabha when the Lokpal Bill was discussed and the Women's Reservation Bill was passed. "We have decided not to give them (Congress-led UPA) a walkover... We have unanimously decided that Jaswant Singh will be the NDA candidate in the Vice Presidential poll," L K Advani, NDA Working President, announced after an NDA meeting.
Advani said JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav had also raised concerns over Ansari's conduct in the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha where marshals were used to oust those opposed to the legislation. He said the same concerns were shared with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he had called him on Saturday to seek support for Ansari's candidature. Reacting to his nomination, 74-year-old Jaswant Singh said, "It is a matter of great respect that the NDA has unanimously chosen me as their candidate for the post of Vice President. It is a big responsibility and also a challenge".