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File photo of former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi . PTI Photo[/caption]
New Delhi, July 11 (PTI/IANS): Former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi is the opposition’s pick for the post of vice president, sources said today.
Gandhi’s name was the only name discussed when 18 opposition parties met today to decide on their candidate for the vice presidential poll, the sources said.
The JD(U), which had broken ranks with the opposition over the presidential poll, also attended the meeting which chose Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson to be its nominee for vice president.
While Sharad Yadav represented the JD(U), other leaders at the meeting included Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, TMC’s Derek O’ Brien, CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, NC’s Omar Abdullah, SP’s Naresh Agarwal and BSP’s Satish Chandra Mishra. Polling for the vice president’s post will take place on August 5 if required. The votes will be counted the same evening.
Opposition didn’t handle Presidential election properly: Amartya Sen
Kolkata: Noble laureate economist Amartya Sen feels the opposition parties at the national level did not handle the Presidential election the way they should have.
“I certainly feel the opposition parties at the centre failed to handle the proceedings of this Presidential election the way they should have,” Sen said here at the screening of a documentary based on him.
“Politics often depends on how it is perceived. Often the politics we practise in this country is more about the tactics than about the principle. However, this is not a fruitful practice,” the economist noted.
“The opposition waited to see which candidate the ruling party puts up and then decide their candidature. For instance, when the BJP put up a Dalit candidate, they did the same. If BJP would have opted for an intellectual candidate, they would have gone with someone like Gopalkrishna Gandhi,” Sen added.
While former Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind was named the BJP-led NDA candidate, the Congress-led opposition fielded former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. Both are Dalits.
