The race for the next President of India has been quite a talking point in the last month or so with the media keeping the interest alive through various commentary as well as speculation. Initially the names of incumbent Vice President Hamid Ansari and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee were doing the rounds as serious candidates of the ruling Congress party. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) which met on Monday has now endorsed the Congress President Sonia Gandhi to take a final call on the candidates for the President and Vice Presidential election. Obviously everyone including the Opposition parties such as the BJP and the Left Front, they are all waiting for the ruling Congress party to make a formal announcement before taking a decision to either field their own candidate or support the Congress nominee. In the meantime, other names have cropped up in the last few weeks, the most prominent one being that of former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma. The senior NCP leader has compared himself, to US President Barack Obama, who went on to become the first black man to enter the White House. Sangma is hoping that he can become the first tribal to become President of the world’s largest democracy. Off course we should take note here that initially Sangma had only voiced his strong opinion and appeal that since no one from the community has so far occupied this esteemed position, it was time for a tribal to get this chance.
On hindsight perhaps the wily Sangma should have stayed that course i.e. campaigning for a tribal President and nothing more. Knowing the kind of enthusiast that he is, the former Speaker has projected himself as an ‘independent’ candidate and his name has been endorsed by two powerful Chief Minister—AIADMK Chief J. Jayalalithaa and BJD boss and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. After getting this support, Sangma has reached out to the different political groups. But it seems that not many people are keen to go with this choice. It also appears that the prospect of having a tribal as President is gaining ground at least in the northeast region with the latest support coming for veteran Congress leader from Nagaland Dr SC Jamir. With all the names and permutation, perhaps this column could also risk making some comments on the Presidential race.
As far as Sangma’s candidature goes, perhaps this is not the right time for him. Firstly, he is too much of a political person right now to be considered for such a post. Sangma still carries quite a lot of political ambition with him. His daughter is an MP and Union Minister in the present UPA government. Both his sons are MLAs in the Meghalaya Assembly with his younger son Leader of Opposition. Sangma senior is himself an MLA and still very active in both State and Central politics. In the context of having a large political empire to oversee, Sangma as President will be out of place. As such it will be better for Sangma to continue remaining in active politics where his service to the people of Meghalaya in particular and the NE region in general is much needed.
As far as Jamir goes, he has all the experience, knowledge and also style to serve as President after successful stints as Union Minister, MP, Chief Minister and Governor, to name a few of his accomplishment in his long years of public service. As far as politics goes, compared to Sangma, he is less active and almost in semi retirement. At the end though, the answer lies with the Congress President, who no doubt will take a final call after taking all important factors into consideration. Our reading is that Sonia Gandhi will go for someone deserving—a person who has served not only the party but the government well. Pranab Mukherjee has been described as the best person not to have become the Prime Minister. Perhaps the Congress President knows that Pranab Mukherjee has to be rewarded for his loyalty to the party and the invaluable service given to the UPA-I & II governments. Who knows? We can only speculate.
