Praveen Davar
Come May and the nation enters a very interesting and stimulating political period once every five years. By the end of the month the Government and the opposition parties decide who will be their candidate for the country’s highest constitutional post. With Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar proposing a second term for President Pranab Mukherjee things have started moving faster in that direction. Both Congress President Sonia Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, who met yesterday, are also reported to have endorsed the idea of continuing the incumbent President which they know however will depend more on the government than the opposition.
Except in the case of A P J Abdul Kalam in 2002 and Neelam Sanjiva Reddy in 1977 there have been keen contests for the highest post. Even during the fifties /early sixties when Congress enjoyed huge majorities in both the houses during the Nehru era, stalwarts like Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Dr. S. Radhakrishnan had to face contests, sometimes from non serious candidates.
This time the strength of BJP led NDA alliance and the opposition is evenly matched. It is for this reason that Congress President Sonia Gandhi has taken the initiative to unite the opposition with the aim of choosing a common candidate against the NDA’s nominee.
As per media reports the front runners of the opposition are Sharad Pawar, Meira Kumar, Sharad Yadav and Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and a former Governor whose name has been reportedly proposed by West Bengal, Chief Minister, Mamta Banerjee. A contest will be avoidable only if President Mukherjee is offered a second term by the government or the Vice President Hamid Ansari is elevated which he no doubt deserves on merit. There is such a precedence when Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was elevated as President in 1962 after having served two terms as Vice President. For either of the options the Congress and perhaps all opposition parties will have no hesitation in r giving their unstinted support.
However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS may not like to let go this opportunity to place a person in Rashtrapati Bhavan who will further their agenda of making India a saffron state that will make their task of retaining power in 2019 much easier.
However, the opposition is making a mistake by waiting for the government to announce its candidate. It will lose the initiative if the government announces its candidate first. The opposition parties must therefore come to a consensus themselves and declare their combined candidate. Nobody can be a better choice for the non-NDA parties than Dr. Karan Singh whose moral and intellectual stature is well recognized in the country, and even abroad. Even though he in mid-eighties, he is physically fit and mentally altert. Prime Minister Modi and the BJP may have to think twice before fielding a candidate against Dr.Karan Singh whose elevation may also go a long way in resolving the rapidly deteriorating situation in Kashmir. This is his last chance and he deserves it more than anyone else save the incumbent President. It will be in national interest for sure.
The opposition accepted Vajpayee’s candidate in 2002. Now it is the turn of his successor from the party to return the favour. However, if no consensus emerges, the battle for Raisina Hill may be as interesting, and unpredictable, as the one fought between Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s candidate V. V. Giri and Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, the official Congress candidate in 1969. V. V. Giri won by a thin margin and that also in the second count. July 2017 is poised for such a repetition, unless President Pranab Mukherjee, or someone else, emerges as a consensus candidate.
(The writer, an ex-Army officer, is a former Member of National Commission for Minorities)
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