VICTORY PREDICTED FOR VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 003657 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/10/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KISL IN SUBJECT: VICTORY PREDICTED FOR VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MOHAMMAD HAMID ANSARI; BIOGRAPHIC PROFILE REF: NEW DELHI 00456 Classified By: DepPolCouns Atul Keshap for Reasons 1.4 (B,D) ¶1. (C) Our contacts, media reports, and senior FSNs are confident that Ambassador Mohammad Hamid Ansari, the vice presidential nominee of the ruling UPA coalition and Left parties, will emerge victorious from today's contest in the electoral college comprising of members of Parliament. "The Hindu" reports that Congress party managers believe Ansari will garner over 425 votes, 33 more than the minimum 392 necessary for a win. This election, and Pratibha Patil's before it, augur well for UPA strength and UPA-Left relations as the Monsoon Parliament gets underway. ¶2. (C) Ansari is a close Embassy contact. We have found Ansari to be an impressive interlocutor, intelligent, charismatic, and moderate in most but not all of his views. Giving a glance at his thinking on Iran, during a lunch hosted by PolCouns, Ansari stated his view that the relationship between the U.S. and Iran &is complex. There is resentment, but there is also a yearning to reconcile. Tehran wants to talk with Washington, but not on terms of surrender.8 Ansari believes that &a closed-door policy will not achieve U.S. objectives.8 With regard to Afghanistan, Ansari considers President Karzai to be ineffective, although a friend to India; Ansari also believes that Pakistani ISI elements are responsible for continued problems in southern Afghanistan. As the most senior serving Muslim official in India -- if elected -- Ansari will have a large voice in enunciating the needs of that sizable portion of the population. ¶3. (C) Biographic profile: Mohammad Hamid Ansari phonetic: AnSA-Ree; Chairman, National Commission for Minorities (since March, 2006) Hamid Ansari, a retired Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, currently chairs the National Commission for Minorities. Prior to this, Ansari was Chairman of the Advisory Committee for Oil Diplomacy in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and served as a member of the National Security Advisory Board. Previously, Ansari was a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, a prominent Delhi-based think tank where he directed the &Islam and the West8 project. In 1997, after retiring from the IFS, Ansari served as the Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University. Considered an intellectual with left-of-center leanings, Ansari has carved out a distinct place for himself as a diplomat, academic and writer specializing in international issues during a career spanning over four decades. He is also known for his views on Iran, Iraq, and Palestine that are critical of USG foreign policy positions; he also opposed the US-India nuclear deal. As a Visiting Professor at the Centre for West Asian and African Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Academy for Third World Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia University, Ansari chaired the Working Group on &Confidence building measures across segments of society in the state.8 Ansari also established the Second Round Table Conference on Kashmir in 2006, and co-chaired the India-UK Round Table. Born in Kolkata in 1937, Ansari studied at Shimla,s St. Edwards High School, Kolkata,s St. Xavier,s College, and then Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh. After joining the IFS in 1961, he served as India's envoy to the United Arab Emirates/Afghanistan (1989-90) Iran (1990-92) and Saudi Arabia (1995-97). He also served as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1993-95) and as High Commissioner to Australia. While at the United Nations, Ansari led the Indian delegation's successful resistance to Pakistan's two-year effort to gain a UN resolution on Kashmir favorable to Pakistan. Ansari participated in the Pugwash Workshop on South Asian Security, Geneva, Switzerland in ¶2002. In 1984, he was awarded the Padma Shree, a prestigious civilian honor to distinguished Indians. NEW DELHI 00003657 002 OF 002 Ansari is a Trustee of the Bapu Sadbhavana and Shiksha Trust. He has edited the book "Iran Today: Twenty Years after the Islamic Revolution" and has written a number of academic papers and newspaper articles on the Middle-East. According to veteran IFS officer T. P. Sreenivasan, Ansari is widely admired in the IFS, in particular for his &generosity, graciousness, support and encouragement8 for more junior officers. Sreenivasan has also lauded Ansari,s &natural talent for transparency and credibility, disarming manner, and truly aristocratic behavior.8 One of his few weaknesses, according to Sreenivasan, is his tendency to ¬ raise his voice against actions of authorities, even when he himself recognizes them as unfair,8 while both a civil servant and a private figure. In a conversation with PolCouns, Communist Party leader Sitaram Yechury described Ansari as "not overly political, with a depth of knowledge on issues, and someone who will be appealing to India's large Muslim population." WHITE