Hamid Ansari filed nomination for VP Poll
New Delhi. UPA’s vice-presidential candidate Hamid Ansari filed his nomination papers here on Wednesday in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and leaders of the ruling coalition.
The nominations were handed over to Lok Sabha Secretary General T.K. Viswanathan, who is returning officer for August 7 vice presidential polls.
In what was seen as significant, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was seated next to the prime minister at the brief event in Parliament House. The SP props the UPA government from outside.
Nationalist Congress Party’s Sharad Pawar and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Lalu Prasad were also in the front row along with Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Misra, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, DMK’s T.R. Baalu and Lok Janshakti Party’s Ram Vilas Paswan were among those present.
The prime minister, in his brief remarks, expressed happiness over the “massive support” for Ansari.
Soon after filing his nomination papers, Ansari thanked UPA and its partners for supporting his candidature. “I am very grateful to all the leaders who have come here to attend this function, for supporting my nomination and for sponsoring me,” he told reporters.
