India elects its 14th President on July 20, 2017. Typical of all political contests, both the NDA and Congress-led allies have put up candidates, accusing each other of petty-mindedness and betrayal. We should expect more of this coming to mud the rival candidates’ credentials. None of it, however, is called for.
Election of an Indian President is a hugely predictable event. There is no need for an exit or opinion poll and analysis of electoral swings to discover the winner. Every vote’s preference is known. Since 1950, governments have been nominating candidates who won effortlessly. Ram Nath Kovind, the pick of NDA, will also win handsomely and become our next President.
The hype over the election makes really no sense. Indian President is a harmless entity who patiently listens to everyone who has a grievance against the government, never criticises or makes fun of anyone and follows strictly what the government asks him to speak, read out and sign. He remains caged in royalty and has no say in national affairs. His anguish also has to be private. Presidents such as Rajendra Prasad, Giani Zail Singh and APJ Abdul Kalam—who tried to break free and asked the government to have a re-look on issues that agitated them for their impropriety—were summarily disciplined.
So, why recriminate over filling such an innocuous post? Ideally, the Constitution should have provided for each state to nominate its candidate in turn and for the nation to accept it in a spirit of federalism. This would have localised the bickering and made states wait ungrudgingly for their man to step in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Ambedkar could not foresee that selecting even a President would become a political slugfest.
Many believe that a presidential candidate should be selected by consensus among all parties. But our Constitution views differently. It provides for electing a President by majority and not by consensus. The Opposition’s candidate Meira Kumar, is, however, opposed to ‘majoritarianism’. If Kovind wins by a majority vote, she may have difficulty in conceding defeat. Majoritarianism is an accepted evil of democracy and one has to live with its arrogance. That explains why political parties constantly work for it by invoking caste, religion, region, language etc.
Interestingly, Kovind wants us to believe that President is above party politics. If it is so, why did BJP nominate him and Congress picked Kumar and not a painter, artist, physician or a farmer? They will now go around seeking support from parties, which is a waste of efforts. They will win or lose because their sponsoring parties have that many votes. Kovind’s meeting with Mamata Banerjee, M K Stalin and Lalu Prasad Yadav or Meira’s with Amit Shah will not cut any ice.
Meira calls the election a fight for pluralism, inclusiveness and secularism. Brave, empty words. If we believe her, weaker sections will now be further weakened, and India will become a Hindu Rashtra at the cost of Muslims and Christians. Lalu Yadav calls it a battle of ideologies; Kovind representing fascism and Meira liberalism. Strange, as it comes from a man who had let loose repression, tyranny, self-aggrandisement and nepotism—facets of fascism—during his 11-year misrule in Bihar. For Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee, Kovind’s entitlement to Rashtrapati Bhavan is suspect because they do not know who he is.
Political commentators are worried that President’s post has been reduced to caste politics. But if castes win election in a democracy, what is the debate for? No one contests to lose elections. These days, Dalits are the most winnable bet. So, why will NDA not opt for Kovind? Tomorrow, it could be the turn of an ST, a BC, a Muslim or a Christian to be the toast of political parties. Even for tokenism, the Congress had no option but to field Meira lest the BJP corners all the credit for honouring and empowering Dalits.
The noise over the presidential candidate is actually for an effort towards cobbling up a viable Opposition to prevent Modi’s re-election in 2019. Individually, Opposition parties stand to lose badly to him, hence this desperation for a bonhomie. This time, they have succeeded to some extent. Seventeen parties have come together to nominate Meira. But the task to keep the flock intact is uphill. Nitish Kumar has already ditched them and endorsed NDA nominee and so have TRS and BJD. Mulayam Singh and Sharad Pawar are unreliable. TMC, communists and DMK have strong regional aspirations which could upset seat adjustments. Not surprisingly, a Congress spokesperson fears that should Modi win in 2019, India could well have a President by 2024, directly elected by people. Until that happens, let Kovind hold his crown securely.
Amar Bhushan
Former special secretary, Research and Analysis Wing
amarbhushan@hotmail.com