Prez poll: Avinash Pande appointed observer for UP

Mumbai, June 27 (UNI) Former Nagpur Congress MLA Avinash Pande has been appointed as the party's observer for Uttar Pradesh in the July 19 Presidential poll, wherein UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil is pitted against Vice President B S Shekhawat, who is contesting as an independent backed by the BJP-led NDA.

The task before Mr Pande, who is presently the chairman of the Maharashtra State Small Scale Industries Development Corporation Ltd (MSSSIDC), was to ensure co-ordination among all parties supporting Ms Patil's candidature in the state, party sources said.

Speaking to UNI, Mr Pande said he already had one round of talks with Uttar Pradesh Congress president Salman Khurshid, Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tiwari, AICC general secretary and in- charge of UP Ashok Gehlot and Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes among others.

Mr Pande was also the observer for the 2007 UP Assembly elections.

UNI