By IANS
New Delhi : A triangular fight for the job of India's president loomed Friday – a day after United Progressive Alliance (UPA) named Rajasthan Governor Pratibha Patil as its surprise candidate, upsetting opposition calculations.
Although her rivals have not yet been named, Patil, 72, looks set to face the battle of the ballot as the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has continued its support for Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and the recently-formed Third Front has signalled it will support neither Patil nor Shekhawat.
The choice of Patil by the UPA and supporting Left parties – a politically shrewd move – appeared to have caught NDA leaders off-guard.
One NDA leader told IANS, "We have to reckon with the first woman president factor. Her candidature could get women votes across party lines."
Although the eight-party Third Front is yet to come out with a name, there have been clear indications from their leaders that they not willing to support a Congress or BJP candidate for the top job.
While Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief N Chandrababu Naidu has ruled out supporting any Bharatiya Janata Party candidate, Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh has discounted the possibility of backing a Congress candidate. And Singh has also said his party may consider voting for a Left candidate.
The first indication that the NDA will be supporting Shekhawat came when former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Thursday night rejected an appeal by Congress President Sonia Gandhi to support Patil.
In a statement, Vajpayee and BJP President Rajnath Singh took exception to the Congress and UPA partners not consulting the main opposition party before deciding on Pratibha Patil's candidature.
On paper, the odds are stacked against the NDA. Of the total 10,98,882 eligible votes in the presidential contest, Patil could win over 570,000 votes, including the Bahujan Samaj Party's 58,300 votes. BSP chief Mayawati this week declared her unconditional support to the Congress candidate.
Going by the strength of the BJP and its allies, the NDA candidate is expected to bag 354,689 votes. Unattached parties, such as the AIADMK, Samajwadi Party, RLD, TDP, AGP and MDMK – some of the Third Front's constituents – carry a total of 106,281 votes.
Even if all the Third Front parties vote for the NDA, which is not a certainty, its candidate is expected to garner a maximum of 4,60,970 votes – giving Patil a victory-margin of over 100,000 votes.
Â