New Delhi, July 2: Pratibha Patil crossed the first big hurdle to Rashtrapati Bhavan today when her nomination papers passed the scrutiny of the returning officer, the secretary-general of the Lok Sabha.

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the “Independent” candidate backed by the BJP and most NDA constituents, also cleared the “test”.

But Shekhawat appears to have lost the numbers — with the “third front” declaring that it will stay “neutral” — but unlike the UPA-Left contender he has not come under political attack.

The campaign against Pratibha has intensified, dragging the Election Commission and the courts into the duel and giving the otherwise sedate presidential contest the look of a panchayat poll.

First, BJP leader L.K. Advani urged the poll panel to ask candidates to reveal their assets and criminal antecedents. Then, two separate petitions were filed, one each in the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court, challenging Pratibha’s nomination.

The petitioners cited many grounds. First, the bank that belonged to her and her family allegedly embezzled employees’ contributions to the Kargil fund. The second accusation was that Pratibha leveraged her political position to waive loans to her relatives and “defaulted” on repayments. The third charge was that she held an office of profit in educational institutions run by her family in Jalgaon and concealed these “facts” from the country.

Advani, who handed over his letter to election commissioner Naveen Chawla, said the poll process had started, but there were still 18 days to go before voting. “All candidates should make the disclosures expected from those who seek to enter legislative bodies.”

BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad cited a 2002 Supreme Court ruling that requires all candidates aspiring to legislative posts to declare their antecedents, assets and liabilities. The directive, he said, was incorporated in the amendments to the Representation of People Act.

When Sushma Swaraj, who has played Shekhawat’s “spokesperson”, was asked if the Vice-President would make the disclosures, she was far from categorical. “It’s not about moral pressure. It is a constitutional demand and it is up to the Election Commission to issue the relevant directives,” she said.

Pratibha has the moral edge, having quit as Rajasthan governor.

The Congress has argued that the poll panel can’t frame laws, only Parliament can. And if the NDA was so keen, it could have amended the people’s representation act when it was in power.

“Surely, the BJP knew what the law was. Then why didn’t they demand that A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Shekhawat should disclose their assets and other things when they were made President and Vice-President?” countered Union minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi.

The Supreme Court petition filed by Manohar Lal Gupta — a presidential aspirant whose nomination was rejected — will be heard tomorrow. But Das Munshi insisted that once the election process has started, nothing could be done to stall it. The poll panel is believed to have told Advani the same thing today.

The UPA has not attacked Shekhawat, but has pointed out to the Election Commission the fact that since he did not resign as Vice-President, he could “misuse” his office to canvass support.