Seshan Enters Race For Presidents Post

Former chief election commissioner, T N Seshan, today joined the race for presidents post filing his nomination as a Shiv Sena-backed candidate for the July 14 election.

The 64-year-old Seshan, accompanied by some of his proposers and seconders from the Shiv Sena, went to the Lok Sabha secretariat and filed his papers before the secretary general and returning officer, S Gopalan.

Seshans candidature for the countrys highest office is being supported by 19 MPs and 73 MLAs belonging to Shiv Sena and rest independent legislators from Maharastra. The day coincides with the Shiv Sena foundation day. The former CEC, who has been campaigning for support from political parties for his candidature, parried questions from reporters on his prospects in view of the decision of the united front and the congress party to field the vice-president, K R Narayanan.

 

In reply to queries by reporters, Seshan kept repeating I will not say any thing...I have nothing to say.

Among those who accompanied Seshan were Shiv Sena MPs Subhash Desai, Satish Pradhan, Prakash Paranjpe and R Raja Babu Godse.

Talking to newspersons, Gopalan said that of the 18 nominations filed so far, two had been outrightly rejected as they were not accompanied by authenticated electoral rolls.

Gopalan said that only two candidates - Seshan and Narendra Nath Dubey adig- had filed their papers along with mandatory 50 proposers and 50 seconders.

All other candidates, the secretary general said, had no proposers or seconders.

The scrutiny of all the nomination papers will be held in the Lok Sabha secretariat on June 24, Gopalan added.

While the last date for filing nominations is June 23, the last date for withdrawal of candidature is June 26.

Counting of votes will take place on July 17.