Vajpayee draws battlelines

The battlelines for India's presidential elections are drawn.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday night rebuffed the UPA's belated overtures to forge a consensus on its presidential candidate, Pratibha Patil. He also told them that the opposition could put up another candidate.

"It's too late!" Vajpayee reportedly told Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when they sought opposition NDA's support for Pratibha.

BJP chief Rajnath Singh also ruled out the possibility of a consensus from the opposition side on the UPA's candidate, saying the requests from the ruling alliance had come only after it had finalised its candidate for the highest office.

Apparently rattled by the prospect of Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat providing a formidable challenge to the UPA candidate, Manmohan Singh and Sonia spoke to Vajpayee on phone seeking a consensus on the UPA's nominee.

But they drew a blank. Vajpayee, who is the NDA chairperson and has been authorised to take a final decision on the issue, bluntly told them that the opposition alliance was "unable" to back their candidate.

"You announced the candidate without taking our opinion. Besides we too have our own candidate and we are, therefore, unable to support you," a statement issued by the BJP late on Thursday night said quoting Vajpayee.

Though the NDA is yet to formally announce its candidate, the prospect that its support to Bhairon Singh Shekhawat as an independent candidate could upset the UPA gameplan seems to have rattled the UPA camp managers.

Even as Sonia and Manmohan Singh were trying to extend an olive branch to Vajpayee, Congress trouble-shooters were trying to drive a wedge in the NDA camp by approaching Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, JD(U) president Sharad Yadav and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Sources said that the Prime Minister himself talked to Nitish Kumar to seek support for Pratibha as she would be the first woman President of India. But he was bluntly told that the Left parties that were supporting the UPA had last time espoused the candidature of Laxmi Sehgal, but the Congress had not supported her.