The UPA-Left candidate for the vice-presidential poll will be decided after the presidential election on July 19. Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunshi informed this to the press  on Monday.

 However, the issue is expected to be informally discussed during the dinner being hosted for all UPA and supporting parties’ MPs in honour of UPA-Left Presidential candidate Pratibha Patil on Tuesday.
Mr Dasmunshi added that the methodology applied while choosing the presidential candidate, of developing a consensus among all UPA and supporting parties, would be followed while choosing the vice presidential candidate.

However, he indicated that instead of the Congress, it would be the four Left parties who would first decide amongst themselves on a suitable candidate before the issue was discussed at the overall UPA-Left forum.
“We will talk to all parties within UPA as well as those supporting us from outside, first informally and then formally, to decide the candidate,” he said.

Mr Dasmunshi downplayed the UNPA’s decision to field Rasheed Masood as a candidate for the vice-presidential election, saying, “everybody has a right to put up a candidate, but the UPA-Left’s candidate will win with an overwhelming majority, as it is a straight election  involving majority votes from MPs in both Houses and does not involve preferential votes, as is the case in the presidential election”.

He stated,“while in Rajya Sabha, the combined strength of NDA and UNPA falls 16 seats short of UPA and supporting parties, in Lok Sabha, the gap is even bigger in favour of the ruling coalition”.