The Rashtrapati Bhavan away from Draupadi Murmu is only a formal swearing-in ceremony. She will be the first tribal woman in India to hold the post of President. By electing his President, the Bharatiya Janata Party has fulfilled the dream of the Father of the Nation, MK Gandhi. Gandhi wanted the first President of independent India to be a Dalit woman.
When the BJP announced Murmu’s name, the 23-party National Democratic Alliance got only 48.64% of the votes. The BJP had 40% votes, while the opposition had 35.47% votes. It was clear that some sort of political maneuver was needed. The BJP led by Modi, Shah and Nadda knew how to handle the situation. Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal and Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YRS Congress were already desperate. While Jagan was new to the equation, the BJD had supported the NDA in the last presidential election as well. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Shiv Sena, both the constituents of the UPA, decided to support Murmu for various reasons.
By the time the election date came, it was clear that 44 parties supported Murmu and 34 supported Yashwant Sinha, but the real game had not yet begun. Members of almost all regional parties, including the Congress, openly “cross-vote”. It shows that the opposition unity and political commitment was just a sham. Thus Murmu got 64.03% votes, while Yashwant Sinha got only 35.97% votes.
Let’s go back to the last three presidential elections: Pratibha Devi Singh Patil won in 2007, Pranab Mukherjee of the UPA won in 2012, and Ram Nath Kovind of the NDA won in 2017. Every time, only those chosen by the Delhi Durbar won. , On each occasion, the winner received 65–70% of the vote, while the loser received 30–35% of the vote. This year’s presidential election was no different. Like previous years, this year too many tales of dirty politics came to the fore. But it doesn’t matter to our politicians.
The Congress had deliberately placed itself in the background. The command was given to Sharad Pawar and Mamta Banerjee. Trinamool chose Sinha. Banerjee’s supporters were upbeat a few months ago when she announced that she was going to form a non-BJP and non-Congress opposition and that this formation would change the election equation in 2024. That bubble burst immediately, but this election did the rest. Pawar was confined to Maharashtra due to the Shiv Sena rebellion, and Banerjee is yet to receive a nationwide appeal. There are also Patnaik and Reddy. They want to keep BJP out of their states. They prefer a weak NDA and a disintegrated Congress over a formidable opposition. Will this bet always succeed? It will be tested in the upcoming elections in Andhra and Odisha.
Let’s now move on to the Vice Presidential candidates. While former Congress leader Margaret Alva is contesting as the opposition candidate, the NDA has fielded Jagdeep Dhankhar, who has won only one assembly election and one Lok Sabha election so far. In contrast, Alva holds the record for only one victory via the popular vote. Belonging to the Nehru-Gandhi family, she has held several positions for a long time. Although his political stature is big, he has been away from the limelight for some time.
There is a surprising contrast between the candidates chosen by the NDA and the UPA for President and Vice President. The BJP has chosen grassroots leaders to prepare for the upcoming elections. In contrast, the UPA candidates seem wealthy and Lutyens’ Delhi natives. Since 2014, the electoral gap between Bhadralok and the average voter has widened. The opposition missed an opportunity to address it during these elections. Murmu can have an impact on the NDA in 47 Lok Sabha and 554 assembly seats with tribal majority. Kovind had played the same role five years back. Talking about Dhankhar, the next assembly elections will be affected in Rajasthan along with western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. This would greatly reduce the perception of the Jats that Delhi did not treat them fairly. Has the Congress chosen Alva to address Karnataka or the entire South? Meira Kumar’s candidature in the last presidential election did not help the Congress. Will Alva’s candidature benefit the party this time?
Such contradictions have prevented the opposition from fulfilling its duty. You will recall that BJP leaders had criticized the Manmohan Singh administration during 2013-14 on all matters including inflation, currency depreciation and border security. Even now the situation is not very good, but the scattered opposition is not able to raise a special voice on these issues.
Hearty congratulations to Draupadi Murmu ji and a humble request too! Along with dignity, many expectations also increase from the position you will occupy. I hope you will live up to the expectations.
Shashi Shekhar is the editor-in-chief of Hindustan. Thoughts are personal.
catch all business News, market news, today’s fresh news events and breaking news Updates on Live Mint. download mint news app To get daily market updates.