UPA announces Hamid Ansari as Vice-Presidential candidate

United Progressive Alliance has finally given the nod to Hamid Ansari's candidature for a second term as vice-president at a meeting of alliance partners held today. If elected, he will set a record as the second Indian to get a consecutive term as Vice President.

75-year-old Ansari, a career diplomat who has also served as Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, will emulate the late philosopher-statesman S Radhakrishnan, who got two terms as vice-president between 1952 and 1962.

In 2007, Ansari was a surprise choice for Vice President when the Left parties--which were supporting the UPA-I government from outside--proposed his name and the Congress-led alliance accepted it.

He had defeated Najma Heptuallah of BJP in the 2007 election securing 455 votes in an electoral college of 788. Rshid Masood, candidate of UNPA, was placed third.

Well read and an affable personality, Ansari was among the front runners in the race for the Presidential election next week. His name was the UPA's second choice as revealed by Sonia Gandhi but Pranab Mukherjee pipped him to the post after Trinamool Congress' pressure tactics on the Congress failed.

Ansari was Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities when he was nominated for the Vice-Presidential poll in 2007.

Ansari tried to innovate in the House proceedings when he shifted the Question Hour to post-lunch session to avoid loss of opportunity for members to question the government on account of routine disruptions in the morning.

The move was given up after just a session when he found the questioners themselves absent from the House and the government also not not very enthusiastic about it.

The suave Ansari has served as Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, Indian High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia. He had joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1961.

A Padma Shree awardee, Ansari became Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University in May, 2000 and held the post till March, 2002.

Ansari is also known for his role in ensuring compensation to the victims of the Gujarat riots and pushing for a complete re-look into the relief and rehabilitation for riot victims since 1984.

He is also known for his strong views on burning issues.

"The language used by the Pope sounds like that of his 12th-Century counterpart who ordered the crusades... It surprises me because the Vatican has a very comprehensive relationship with the Muslim world," Ansari had said in 2006 as Chairman, Minorities Commission of India, in reaction to Pope Benedict XVI's comments on Islam.