Mohammad Hamid Ansari, a former diplomat and academic, was elected India’s new vice-president on Friday.

A nominee of the ruling alliance, Ansari, 70, defeated opposition-backed rival, Najma Heptullah, by 233 votes for the largely ceremonial post. He is India’s third Muslim vice-president.

An electoral college of members of parliament elects the vice-president, who also acts as chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.

“Mohammad Hamid Ansari has been declared elected vice-president,” returning officer Yogendra Narain told reporters.

Last month, India elected its first female president, Pratibha Patil, in what supporters called a boost for the rights of millions of disadvantaged women, despite a vitriolic campaign by the opposition questioning her suitability.

He headed the National Commission for Minorities, a body set up to protect the rights of minorities, including Muslims who make up more than 13 percent of India’s 1.1 billion population.

Ansari was India’s envoy to the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Australia and the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations, according to his official bio data.

He is a former vice-chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University, a historical university in north India, and a recipient of the country’s prestigious civilian award, the Padma Shri.

The election to the Office of the Vice President,  to be held on 10th of this month, is the thirteenth.  The earlier elections to this office were held in the years 1952, 1957 (both uncontested), 1962, 1967, 1969, 1974, 1979 (unopposed), 1984, 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2002.

Under the provisions of  Article 66(1) of Constitution of India, the Vice-President shall be elected by the members of an Electoral College consisting of Members of both the Houses of Parliament.

The nominated members of both the Houses of Parliament (2 from  Lok Sabha and 12 from Rajya Sabha) are also eligible to be included in the Electoral College along with the elected members of both the  Houses of Parliament.

The Members of Legislative Assemblies are not eligible to be included in the Electoral College for the Vice-Presidential election.

The  present strength of the Electoral College:

Rajya Sabha:

Elected              -           233

Nominated             -              12

Lok Sabha:

Elected              -           543

Nominated             -                2

TOTAL                          790

Under the provisions of Article 67, the Vice-President shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office and under the provisions of clause (c) of Article 67, the Vice-President shall, not withstanding the expiration of his term, continue to hold office until his successor enters upon his office.

No person shall be eligible for election as Vice-President unless he:

a)       is a citizen of India;

b)       has completed the age of 35 years; and

is qualified for election as a member of the Council of States (Article      66).

A person shall not be eligible for election as Vice-President if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any Local or other Authority subject to the control of any of said Governments.

However, a person shall not be deemed to hold any office of profit by reason only that he is the President or Vice-President of the Union or the Governor of any State or is a Minister either for the Union or for any State.

A triangular contest was on the cards for the vice presidential election Aug 10 as the three candidates who were cleared following the scrutiny of papers remained in the fray Thursday, the last day for withdrawing nominations.

The ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), along with the Left Front and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and others, has fielded National Commission of Minorities chairman and former diplomat Mohammad Hamid Ansari.

From the main opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the candidate is Najma Heptullah of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a Rajya Sabha MP and a former deputy chairperson of the upper house.

Some NDA constituents and BJP allies including the Shiv Sena, Trinamool Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) have so far avoided committing themselves on the vice presidential poll, after not aligning with the coalition on the presidential election July 19.

The newly constituted ‘third front’ of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), comprising mainly of parties aligning neither with the Congress nor the BJP, has nominated Rasheed Masood, the Samajwadi Party MP from Saharanpur.

The electoral college for the vice presidential elections comprises of the 789 members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha – the Lok Sabha has 542 elected and two nominated members, while the Rajya Sabha has 236 elected and nine nominated members.

The UPA along with those of the Left Front, the BSP and the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has a clear edge over the other two alliances in terms of numbers.

The UPA and its allies have a combined strength of 418 in the two houses, whereas the NDA minus Shiv Sena, Trinamool Congress and JD-S has only 220 MPs.

As for the UNPA, some of its key constituents like the AIADMK, MDMK, the Asom Gana Parishad and the India National Lok Dal (INLD) had defied the group’s collective decision to boycott the presidential poll and had voted for NDA candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

With its own candidate in the fray, “there is no such compulsion in this election”, said a close confidante of Masood, expressing confidence that the UNPA candidate would get many more votes than their strength of 129.

The third front expects some NDA allies like Trinamool and JD-S to vote for Masood.

Three Muslim candidates, one of them a woman, are to vie for the post of vice-president of India next month after Indian lawmakers voted in the country’s first woman president on Saturday.

One of them is former career diplomat Hamid Ansari, 65, nominated by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and its Left allies.

Another is Najma Heptullah, 67, a choice of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Heptullah, the woman candidate, is a member of the “Rajya Sabha” (upper house of parliament) and a former deputy chairperson of the house.

The third candidate is veteran politician Rasheed Masood, 60, who has been fielded by the so-called “third front” which emerged during the controversy-tainted presidential election and is spearheaded by former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalita.

The three-cornered contest will take place on Aug 10.

Current vice-president, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who lost to UPA-backed Pratibha Patil by about 300,000 votes on Saturday in the contest for the presidency, has tendered his resignation although his term expires only next month.

Once again, a UPA-championed candidate — this time Ansari — is expected to win the contest as only parliamentarians are eligible to vote and most members of parliament belong to UPA, a 13-party coalition.

With UPA having almost 385 MPs of the total 790 in parliament, it is obvious that Ansari would sail through easily.

In last Saturday’s presidential polls, Patil, who was handpicked by Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi, won easily. She will be sworn in as the first woman president of India on July 25.

Three candidates, all Muslims, have filed their nominations for the Indian vice-presidential elections to be held in August, the Election Commission said Monday. Mohammed Hameed Ansari, 65, has been nominated by the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and is the choice of its leftist partners, who provide key support to the alliance in Parliament.

Ansari, a former diplomat and academic, is currently chairman of India’s Minority Commission, which oversees affairs relating to the country’s minority communities.

Najma Heptullah, 67, the only woman in the fray, is the candidate of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

She is former deputy chairwoman of the Rajya Sabha or upper house of Parliament and is a career politician who switched loyalty from the Congress Party, part of the UPA, to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is now in the opposition in 2004.

Rasheed Masood, 60, also a politician and currently a member of Parliament, is nominee of a third front the United National Progressive Alliance comprising several regional parties. Rasheed is a member of the Samajwadi Party which has a base in northern Uttar Pradesh state.

The new vice president will succeed Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who resigned Saturday after unsuccessfully contesting for the post of president as opposition NDA nominee. Shekhawat’s five-year term would have ended in August.

Unlike the presidential election in which all members of Parliament and state assemblies are eligible to vote, the electoral college for the Indian vice-president comprises only representatives of Parliament.

The candidate of the ruling alliance is likely to win, analysts say, as the UPA has the largest number of lawmakers with the support of leftist parties and some key regional parties.

The role of vice president of India is largely ceremonial. The vice president acts as president in the event of death, resignation, or removal until a new president is elected.

Despite speculation about fissures within the United National Progressive Alliance, the newly-formed coalition took a lead on Friday in filing the nomination papers of its Vice-Presidential nominee, Rasheed Masood. The election is scheduled to be held on August 10.

A Samajwadi Party MP from Saharanpur, Mr. Masood (60) filed his nomination here in the presence of SP leader Mulayam Singh, Telugu Desam Party president Chandrababu Naidu, Indian National Lok Dal chief Om Prakash Chautala and Babulal Marandi of the Jharkhand Vikas Manch. Other allies — the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Asom Gana Parishad — were represented by their MPs.

The candidate filed one set of nomination papers that had all UNPA constituents as proposers and seconders.“We are rock solid together and committed to providing an anti-Congress, anti-BJP alternative,” SP general secretary Amar Singh told journalists when asked about some of the partners going against the decision to abstain from voting in the Presidential elections. He said some MPs voted because of the confusion created by BJP leaders and the Election Commission order on “abstention” and the fear that by abstaining they might lose their membership.

To a question, he said AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa could not be present when Mr Masood’s nomination was being filed, as she was not well. “But the AIADMK was very much represented by Rajya Sabha member K. Malaisamy.”

Both Mr. Mulayam Singh and Mr. Amar Singh objected to Communist Party of India leader A.B. Bardhan’s remark that the AIADMK had deserted them. “Those in the company of the Congress should not comment on the UNPA. It is an unwarranted interference in our matters,” they said.

On Thursday’s voting, Mr. Naidu said it was the era of coalition politics. “Our intention is to provide a third front.” Mr. Chautala said the UNPA would seek the National Democratic Alliance’s support for Mr. Masood, even though it did not back the NDA’s Presidential candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. “In politics, you cannot have a give and take. We will approach everyone for their support. We want our candidate to win.”

Mr. Masood expressed similar sentiments. He said he was contesting to win.

Rajya Sabha Secretary-General Yogendra Narain is the returning officer for the Vice-Presidential election. The last date for filing nomination papers is July 23.

The former diplomat, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, was on Friday unanimously declared the United Progressive Alliance-Left candidate for the August 10 Vice-Presidential election. The name of Mr. Ansari, Chairman of the National Minorities Commission, was announced by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi at a meeting of the UPA-Left Coordination Committee here.

Over the last two days, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat, who had taken the initiative to finalise the name, had held consultations with allies in the UPA and the Congress.

Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad, whose party initially had some reservations, took the floor at the meeting to say that Ms. Gandhi would announce the decision.

She said: “All of us have come to a unanimous understanding that Mr. Mohammed Hamid Ansari would be our candidate. He has an excellent record in serving the nation in many capacities, including as a civil servant and diplomat, as an academic and in his current position.”

The UPA-Left formation, she said, was confident that his nomination would be widely welcomed, and appealed to other political parties to support him. The announcement was greeted by thumping of desks.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Arjun Singh, A.K. Antony, Shivraj Patil and Prithviraj Chavan, as also Ahmed Patel, political secretary to the Congress president, were present. The UPA leaders present included Lalu Prasad, T.R. Baalu (DMK), Praful Patel (NCP), Ramdas Athawale (RPI), A.K. Moorthy (PMK) and Mehbooba Mufti (NC).
Clear majority seen

According to UPA poll managers, with Left support the alliance has a clear majority in an electoral college comprising 788 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs. The UPA plus Left have 401 members; the number will go up by 24 if the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) joins in.

The National Democratic Alliance has 240 and the United National Progressive Alliance 81 MPs. There are 35 others including 11 nominated MPs. The poll managers calculate that at least eight nominated MPs will go with the ruling coalition, informed sources said.

Earlier in the day at a press conference, BSP president and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati disclosed that she had received a set of names from Ms. Gandhi which would be considered by the party and communicated to the UPA chairperson.

Leaders of Left parties have been holding informal consultations over the electoral battle due in August. The Left has said it would begin the exercise of finding a ‘widely accepted’ candidate Thursday.

The Left, which was keen to evolve a consensus on a vice president between the UPA and the eight-party United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) to isolate the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), appeared embarrassed at the latter named its own vice presidential candidate Monday.

Left leaders privately admit they are unhappy at UNPA’s announcement that Samajwadi Party MP Rashid Masood would contest the vice presidential election, which is likely to be a triangular fight now.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has given indication that it might field Najma Heptullah, Rajya Sabha MP and former deputy chairperson of the upper house, for the post.

‘If so, the Congress also might prefer a Muslim candidate,’ said the leader. Both Masood and Hptullah are Muslims.

According to Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat  that the Left would not mind supporting a ‘non-political’ person for the post of vice president, who will also be chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.

Although many names, mostly of Left intellectuals, are doing rounds as possible candidates, Congress sources indicated that the party was not in favour of ceding the posts of presiding officers of both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha to the communists.

Somnath Chatterjee, a CPI-M veteran from West Bengal, presides over the Lok Sabha.

Unlike in the electoral college for presidential election, state legislators will note vote in the Aug 10 vice presidential poll. Only MPs take part in the exercise.

The combined strength of the two houses is 790 MPs. While the Lok Sabha has 543 members, there are 233 members in the Rajya Sabha. There are 12 nominated members in the upper house and two in the lower house.

The UPA, Left and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) together will have a clear majority in the vice presidential election. But with UNPA deciding to have a candidate of its own, smaller groups, independents and nominated MPs will decide who to vote for.

While the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is meeting on Saturday to decide on a nominee for the second most important constitutional post, the Left parties have announced that they would begin the exercise of finding a widely accepted candidate for vice president on Thursday – the day of the presidential poll.

The newly formed third front, the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), has announced that it would also enter the race with its candidate.

A triangular fight in the vice presidential election, scheduled for Aug 10, may widen the existing differences among the major political groupings, who are in three camps in the presidential election.

The ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-Left-Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) combine has fielded Pratibha Patil for the president. Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is contesting as an independent, backed by the NDA. The UNPA has announced that it would abstain from polling.

However, sources in the Left parties said the communists were keen to evolve a consensus among the non-Bharatiya Janata Party parties on a vice presidential nominee. Party leaders would hold discussions with ‘like-minded parties’ in the UNPA, like Samajwadi Party and Telugu Desam Party, to find a common candidate, they said.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat has said that the Left would not mind supporting a ‘non-political’ person for the post of vice president, who would also be chairman of the Rajya Sabha. However, sources in the Congress claimed that Karat’s statement came after the ruling party leadership expressed displeasure in supporting a communist leader for the post.

‘The Congress does not favour the idea of giving away the posts of two presiding officers (of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha) to the communists,’ said a Congress leader. The Lok Sabha is presided by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who is a CPI-M MP from West Bengal.

The BJP leadership had told the UNPA that they would support its vice presidential nominee if they voted for Shekhawat. However, parties like Samajwadi Party, insisted that they could not side with the BJP. A miffed BJP Monday went to the election commission against the UNPA’s decision not to vote saying that it was ‘legally untenable and anti-democratic’.

Unlike in the presidential electoral college, the MLAs are not voters in the Aug 10 vice presidential poll. Only members of both the houses of parliament elect the vice president.

The combined strength of the two houses is 790 MPs. While the Lok Sabha has 543, there are 233 members in the Rajya Sabha. There are 12 nominated members in the upper house and two in the lower house.

The ruling alliance, Left and the BSP together will have a clear majority in the vice presidential election, but if the UNPA decides to field a candidate it would make things tougher for smaller parties, independents and nominated MPs to take a decision.