By IANS
New Delhi : Former prime minister and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) chairman Atal Bihari Vajpayee Friday issued a joint appeal along with NDA convenor George Fernandes to all the MPs and MLAs to vote in favour of Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the NDA-backed presidential candidate.
“Both of us (Vajpayee and Fernandes) are products of this democratic process. So is Shekhawat. We did not rise in politics because we were born in a particular family,” the NDA leaders said in their three-page appeal.
The joint statement that was issued by Shekhawat’s spokesperson Sushma Swaraj, said: “Shekhawat is not an independent candidate only in name. He has demonstrated time and again as chairman of the Rajya Sabha and as vice-president of India, his impartiality, objectivity, fairness and commitment to democracy during the last five years.”
It said, “He (Shekhawat) is a distinguished public figure, an able administrator, a respected statesman and above all, an extraordinary human being. We feel honoured, therefore in approaching you to ask for your valuable vote for him on July 19.”