Lok Sabha member and former Union minister Rasheed Masood of the Samajwadi Party will be the candidate of the Third Front's candidate for vice-president.

Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh announced the candidature of the 59-year-old Masood, a five-time MP from Saharanpur in Western UP. "Masood has excellent credentials. He has been a MP several times, as well as a Cabinet minister. He is a veteran politician and his credentials are definitely better than those of Pratibha Patil's," Singh said.

"Masood was the unanimous choice of all the members of the United National Progressive Alliance," Singh claimed, adding there were other names discussed.

"All the main constituents of the UNPA, including J Jayalalithaa, N Chandrababu Naidu [Images], Babulal Marandi and others will be present when Masood files his papers soon," Singh said.

Asked whether the UNPA had been in talks with the United Progressive Alliance or the National Democratic Alliance for its support, he said, "We have neither asked them for support nor are we expecting it from the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party. We have opposed the candidature of Pratibha Patil and nothing will change in the vice-presidential elections."

Singh said the Left parties had been informed. "The Left also informed us that they were supporting Patil for the post of President and in the same way, we informed them of Masood's candidature. We are always in talks with the Left but we understand that it is their political compulsion to support the UPA and its candidate," Singh said.