Dr.APJ was unwilling to contest and instead he was only willing for a 2nd term if a general consensus is reached among the all the political parties. The UPA led by Congress was totally against Dr.APJ and nominated Ms.PRATHIMA PATEL (Sorry PRATHIBA PATEL) to the post. When Dr.APJ was out of the contest, then BJP was only having one option to nominate Shekhawat for name sake.