Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat refuses to be intimidated by the projected numerical strength of the UPA-Left’s presidential candidate Pratibha Patil.

Brushing aside charges that he was promoting cross-voting with his statement that numbers were added only on the day of counting, Shekhawat shot back: “What cross-voting? The presidential election is not fought on party symbols, nor can whips be issued.” He argued that the electoral college comprised voters representing constituencies not political parties and the vote worth was calculated in terms of population, not party strength.

Stating that he was confident of victory, Shekhawat said: “This is no Shekhawat-vs-Shekhawat fight. She (Pratibha) is a Patil, not a Shekhawat.” Ensuring that his anti-Congress credentials were well established, he said he chose June 25 to file his nomination keeping in mind the 32nd anniversary of the Emergency. Asked why he chose to contest as an Independent, he said: “I resigned from the BJP five years ago when I became the Vice-President. How can I rejoin the party now?”

Countering the Congress slight that he should have resigned as V-P before contesting the elections, he retorted, “The Vice-President has usually been elevated to the President’s post.”

Shekhawat also had a critical note about President APJ Abdul Kalam’s decision to consider the UNPA proposal for renomination. “The President should not be party to any election,” he said, even though he had offered to withdraw in Kalam’s favour.

Conscious he was fighting against the first serious woman presidential aspirant, he cited his own contribution to women’s literacy in Rajasthan and his fight against the discriminating and “primitive” practice of sati in the tradition-bound state.

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