The stage is set for one of the bitterly fought Presidential elections tomorrow with UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil poised
to have a smooth sailing, as BJP-led NDA suffered a double blow on Wednesday with ally Trinamool Congress and Karnataka coalition partner JD(S) deciding to abstain.
The abstention by the two parties caused further embarrassment to Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the NDA-backed ''Independent'' candidate who is fighting a losing battle.
As against this, the mood in the UPA-Left camp was one of jubilation over the news from Kolkata and Bangalore, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi claiming an "unexpected" margin of victory for Pratibha Patil to succeed A P J Abdul Kalam.
While Patil failed to keep her tryst with her home state of Maharashtra today, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil of Congress and NCP respectively called on Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray to thank him for his party''s
support to Pratibha.
Shiv Sena''s decision, breaking ranks with the BJP, its oldest ideological ally, was dubbed as a jolt by no less a person than senior BJP leader L K Advani, who however, insisted that the Opposition by its campaign succeeded in creating doubts in the minds of people about UPA''s functioning.
While Shiv Sena''s decision to support Patil was the first blow to the NDA, the Third Front''s move to abstain was the second shock.
The
political drama ends tomorrow when votes for the President will be finally cast. What follows is a result of simply counting of the votes. The voting process is a sheer formality, as Mrs. Pratibha Patil is the expected President. A lady ruling democratic India after years of Late Mrs. Indira Gandhi rule as its Prime Minister. The patriarchal society is hesitant as usual to accept a woman President but this is bound to happen.