Ansari to file papers for VP elections on Monday

NEW DELHI: UPA-Left nominee Hamid Ansari will file his papers for the Vice Presidential elections nominations which closes on Monday.

Rasheed Masood, sitting Samajwadi Party MP from Uttar Pradesh was the first candidate to file the nomination on July 20.

He has been fielded by the multi-party United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA). The elections are to be held on August 20.

Ansari brings with him a wealth of experience as a distinguished diplomat, academic and a writer in a career spanning over four decades.

Considered an intellectual with Left-of-the-Centre inclination, Ansari has carved out a distinct place for himself as a diplomat, academician and a writer specializing in international issues.

Born in Calcutta in 1937, Ansari studied at Shimla's St Edwards High School and St Xavier's College in the West Bengal capital and Aligarh Muslim University.

Joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1961, Ansari has served as Indian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

He was also the Indian High Commissioner to Australia and New Delhi's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

Awarded Padma Shree in 1984, Ansari was the Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University before he was appointed chairman of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) in March this year.