EC announces 19 July for Presidential poll
13 Jun 2012 1:35 AM GMT
The Election Commission announced Tuesday that the presidential election would be held 19 July, setting the ball rolling for the process to decide on who would be the next occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. All eyes are now on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi who will take the final call on the ruling UPA’s candidate.
While union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has emerged front-runner, there is no clarity on who would be the United Progressive Alliance’s choice for the post.
Suspense has been mounting and there have been hectic consultations between leaders of various political parties but no names have been thrown up.
The only declared candidate is former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma of the Nationalist Congress Party [NCP], who has been actively lobbying for support amongst opposition parties.
Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath said the elections would be notified on 16 June, be held on 19 July and the votes counted on 22 July, just two days before President Pratibha Patil’s term ends.
As the tempo built up, the Congress let out little and only said that there were no differences amongst the allies. ‘We have repeatedly demonstrated that UPA is united and cohesive,’ said party spokesperson Manish Tewari.
The Manmohan Singh-led government, which has for weeks been trying to balance interests of its often troublesome allies, is hoping to resolve differences with the Trinamool and SP, who have the maximum numbers and are crucial for the Congress candidate to win.
While union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has emerged front-runner, there is no clarity on who would be the United Progressive Alliance’s choice for the post.
Suspense has been mounting and there have been hectic consultations between leaders of various political parties but no names have been thrown up.
The only declared candidate is former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma of the Nationalist Congress Party [NCP], who has been actively lobbying for support amongst opposition parties.
Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath said the elections would be notified on 16 June, be held on 19 July and the votes counted on 22 July, just two days before President Pratibha Patil’s term ends.
As the tempo built up, the Congress let out little and only said that there were no differences amongst the allies. ‘We have repeatedly demonstrated that UPA is united and cohesive,’ said party spokesperson Manish Tewari.
The Manmohan Singh-led government, which has for weeks been trying to balance interests of its often troublesome allies, is hoping to resolve differences with the Trinamool and SP, who have the maximum numbers and are crucial for the Congress candidate to win.
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