Hamid Ansari set to get a second term as VP

Hamid Ansari may not have made it to Rashtrapati Bhavan but he may become the second Indian to get a consecutive term as vice president.

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

 In 2007, Ansari was a surprise choice for the vice president's post when the Left parties -- which were supporting the United Progressive Alliance government from outside -- proposed his name and the Congress-led alliance accepted it.

He had defeated Najma Heptuallah of Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2007 election securing 455 votes in an electoral college of 788.

Well read and affable, Ansari was among the front runners in the race for the Presidential election.  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 president's poll in 2007.

By and large, he carried himself well in the post as well as that of chairman of Rajya Sabha, except for the controversial decision to abruptly adjourn the House on the last day of the winter session last year when the members were expected to vote on the Lokpal bill.

The BJP was critical of the adjournment decision, alleging it was done to rescue the government from a possible embarrassing defeat.

Ansari tried to innovate in the House proceedings when he shifted the Question Hour to the 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.

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.