Presidential elections!

The forthcoming Presidential election has given the opposition parties one more opportunity to discuss a political alliance to defeat any candidate proposed by the BJP. Mamata Banerjee, the CM of West Bengal, has taken the lead in trying to call a meeting at the Constitution Club, Delhi, on the 15th of June 2022. She has invited the Maharashtra CM Uddahv Thackeray, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Kerala CM Pinayari Vijayan, Odisha CM Naveen Pattanaik, Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Punjab CM Bhagawat Singh Mann, and leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, CPI’s D. Raja, CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav.

There is nothing wrong with such an attempt by the opposition, who have tried forging alliances before the legislature and parliamentary polls. A few faces are significantly absent and perhaps might be included in the last hour.

A cursory glance of the invitees will show several groups for and against one another. There are PM aspirants like Sharad Pawar, who could spoil the hopes of any alliance if he is proposed as a presidential candidate by the ruling BJP. Naveen Pattanaik has all the pluses to occupy the country’s highest constitutional post. Finally, two governors fit the bill as well.

A lot will depend on the status of ED/CBI investigations that are going on against many opposition leaders, especially Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, on the National Herald case. Hypothetically, even if someone is finally elected from the opposition alliance as the President of India, they cannot breach constitutional proprieties and must adhere to the rule of law. The tenure of Ramnath Kovind has been the quietest and without any blemish merely because he was BJP nominated.

Rather than us and them for a presidential election, a consensus candidate would have spoken a lot about the high democratic values that we cherish and brag about. That may not be possible when a few CMs refuse to recognize Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of India and respect him as such. Parties can fight it out in 2024 to ensure their short-term and long-term political goals.

Mamata must remember that she had pitched for a return of Abdul Kalam in 2007. Mulayam Singh Yadav categorically assured a smooth sailing for Didi’s candidate but ditched her. The buoyant West Bengal CM fails to understand the undercurrents of national politics.

I was quiet when a Delhiite called to congratulate me that Dinesh Trivedi, the likely BJP nominee, and a friend of mine, was becoming the President of India. He was sure, knowing the results even before the nominations were announced! I laughed it out. It was futile to convince diehard and lobby-oriented media persons.

In six weeks, we will know the results and my best wishes for the most deserving person.

Sampath Kumar

Intrépide Voix