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Ansari V-P New Delhi, August 10
Soon after Ansari's victory, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi went to Ansari's temporary residence at South Avenue to greet him. Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi accompanied Ansari for a brief interaction with waiting mediapersons. "It is a victory of merit and triumph," the Prime Minister said. Referring to the earlier triumph of the UPA candidate in the bitterly-contested presidential polls, Sonia Gandhi said it was the second victory for the UPA. She thanked coalition partners and all others who had voted for the UPA-Left candidate. Ansari said he was aware of the importance of the responsibility given to him. “I will work to the best of my ability,” he said. Ansari said he was satisfied with the outcome which had been achieved with excellent team work. Parliamentary affairs minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, who was also the authorised representative of Ansari, said the UPA candidate had polled an extra 31 votes. “We have made a dent in the NDA,” he said, adding that consolidation was gaining ground in favour of the UPA. Evidently elated over the outcome, Dasmunsi said the result was on the lines of his note given to the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi a few days back. “I had predicted 463 votes for the UPA candidate. While five UPA voters did not turn up, three votes were rejected. The result matches my prediction,” he said. Dasmunsi sought to nail the BJP over UPA candidate getting extra votes. Indicating that Ansari got 10 votes from the BJP, Dasmunsi said it was more than the switch over of votes of BJP MPs during the presidential election. However, he did not say who among the BJP and Opposition MPs had cross-voted. “It is not a matter of disclosure,” he said. The electoral college for the vice-presidential election comprised 783 MPs of which 21 did not cast their vote. While four MPs each from the JD(S) and TRS abstained from polling, four MPs of the BJP and one each from the Congress, CPM, CPI, AIMIM, JMM and SP did not turn up.
Hero No. 1
The charm of the silver screen seems to have caught the eyes of railway minister Lalu Prasad and he made it known in the presence of “dream girl” Hema Malini, BJP MP in the Upper House. When Lalu was asked what he was talking to the BJP MP after casting vote in the vice-presidential poll, he said it was about a new film being made by her. I told her that I want a role in the film, he said, breaking into laughter, leaving journalists wondering whether he was serious or just joking. Asked about the name of the film, he said film ka naam gopaniya hai (the name of the film is secret).
Exclusive ride
As Hema Malini waited for the elevator to take her to the ground floor, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and some other women MPs also arrived there. All of them happily travelled down in the same lift. The Congress president and the actress were also seen exchanging greetings.
Family affair
Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar arrived with his MP daughter Supriya Sule and two Nationalist Congress Party members to cast his vote. Petroleum minister Murli Deora and his son Milind came together. However, Congress president Sonia Gandhi chose to be one of the early voters, but her son arrived in the second half to exercise his
franchise.
Gandhigiri
When Priya Dutt, sister of Bollywood hero Sanjay Dutt, arrived to cast her vote, parliamentarians, cutting across party lines, were seen greeting and comforting here. With the bail peal of her brother pending in the Supreme Court, she looked tense but struggled to maintain her composure.
Room No. 62
The polling booth was set up in Room number 62 in the Parliament House complex. As polling was taking place on the first day of the monsoon session, voting picked up momentum after the two Houses were adjourned for the day. Members indulged in leg-pulling, cracking jokes and mingling across party lines. However, the odd man out was DMK member Dayanidhi
Maran, whom party members avoid being seen with.
Tantrum
RJD member Mohammad
Shahabuddin, who arrived at the New Delhi railway station from Bihar to cast his vote, demanded that he be taken to a hotel to freshen up. The Delhi police, however, refused to do so, saying that they had orders to take him straight to Parliament to cast his vote. Shahabuddin refused to budge, which led to a two-hour stand-off. A compromise formula was finally evolved under which Shahabuddin was taken to Rail Yatri Niwas within the campus of the station before being taken to Parliament.
Wheelchair
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Congress MP Ajit Jogi and jailed RJD MP Pappu Yadav arrived in wheelchair to cast their ballot. The electronic security metal frames were not “disabled” friendly and the security personnel had a tough time.
— TNS |
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The swearing-in of Ansari, who will be the country's 13th Vice-President, will take place tomorrow. NDA's candidate Najma Heptulla polled 222 votes while Rashid Masood of UNPA got 75 votes in the triangular contest. Ten votes were found invalid while 21 MPs either abstained or did not cast their vote. 