IPA Newspack
  • Home
  • now
  • politics
  • business
  • markets

IPA /

IPA Special

IPA Special

Droupadi Murmu Is All Set To Become The Next President Of India

By HarharSwarup

Battle lines for coming Presidential election have been drawn. The ruling NDA has set up, former Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu as its presidential candidate. Murmu is a  tribal and this would be for the first time a tribal and woman would be elected President as NDA has comfortable majority majority in the electoral college with the support of the outsiders like BJD and YSRCP.

Belonging to the Santhal community from Odisha, 64-year-old, Murmu was named the Presidential candidate of the BJP-NDA on Tuesday, hours after former union Minister Yashwant Sinha was declared the joint nominee of major opposition parties including the Congress, TMC and NCP.

Sharad Pawar’s “no” to becoming Opposition‘s consensus candidate—he has said he wants to remain in active politics—is a sign that the ruling side is confident of getting its candidate through. Pawar was best placed to garner the support of non-BJP parties, given his cross party relationship over his long political career spanning half century. But after having won every election he has contested, he may not want to take risk of losing  now.

The NDA commands 48 per cent of the electoral college vote. But remaining 52 percent is a divided house. Five non-BJP parties were absent at June 15 Opposition parties meeting called by Mamata Banerjee to revolve a consensus. They were Biju Janata Dal, Telangana RashtraSamiti, YSR Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and AamAdmi Party—these parties were obviously keeping their options open.

Stridently critical of the BJP, the TRS Chief and AAP are unlikely to go with the NDA. TRS chief KCR, who has expressed a desire to move to national stage, may have hoped to emerge as the opposition’s consensus choice for Rashtrapati, but there have been few takers so far.

More significantly, Odisha chief minister, Naveen Patnaik (BJD) and Andhra chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy have indicated an open mind on supporting the NDA and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently. The party accounted for seven per cent of the electoral college vote; the support of even one of them will ensure a comfortable win for NDA candidate. But even without them, the BJP can be expected to pull out all stops, work on independents and smaller parties, create abstentions and rebels in the Major groups, as we saw recently in Rajya Sabha elections. The BJP will have to keep its ally Janata Dal (U),   on the right side.

The opposition is not only a divided house, it also got into the act late. First Sonia Gandhi broached the subject with a few opposition leaders, then Mamata Banerjee decided to invite 22 parties to a meeting. In a show of accommodation, the congress leaders decided to attend the meeting and mollify parties like AAP and TRS, it has indicated its willingness, to back anyone selected by consensus.

The importance of the Presidential poll for the opposition lies in effecting the maximum possible unity amongst non-BJP parties in preparation for 2014Lok Sabha polls  and going for a candidate, and who can symbolize its counter narrative.

As the results of Presidential contest will be known only on July 21, there is also a fundamental question: What kind of a President does the Republic need today? Is s/he just meant to be government’s rubber stamp, or does his role of Rashtrapati go beyond that?

The president in our set up does not enjoy executive powers. The 42nd amendment enacted during the Emergency made the advice of Council of Ministers binding on the President. Though the Janata Dal government undid many of the draconian laws enacted by Indira Gandhi, it left the provision subscribing the President’s role untouched.

Every Prime Minister has sought a President of his  or her choice. It is easier for a powerful Prime Minister who commands a majority, like Narendra Modi and Indira Gandhi to have their way. The President may be a figure head but s/he has power to appoint the PM, to ask his cabinet to reconsider a decision or to delay decisions by sitting on them, among other things.

An adventurist President like Zail Singh in 1987 was on the verge of sacking the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi despite his unprecedented majority of 414 Lok Sabha MPs and offered to swear-in Vice- President R. Venkataraman as PM instead. RV refused, and so did V P Singh. who was also sounded out. Fortunately, Zail Singh, pulled out from brink. At the last moment. (IPA Service)

IPA Special

BJP Leaders Have Started Course For Overthrow Of Nitish Kumar Regime

August 17, 2022
IPA Special

Decoding My Seventy-Two Years In Independent India-Part Two

August 17, 2022
IPA Special

Reining In ‘Freebies’ Needs Thorough Debate

August 17, 2022
IPA Special

Release Of The Eleven Imprisoned Rapists Of Bilkis Bano Is Atrocious

August 17, 2022
IPA Special

Heyday For Geopolitics Of Eurasian Transport

August 17, 2022
IPA Special

Jagdeep Dhankar Had A Chequered Career Involving Many Political Parties

August 17, 2022
IPA Special

NATO Expansion Into Finland And Sweden A Danger To World Peace

August 17, 2022
Happening Now

DMK moves Supreme Court over ‘freebies’ term scope

August 17, 2022
Politics

R’sthan Cong Rs 20 lakh aid for slain Dalit boy’s family

August 17, 2022
Politics

Gehlot vs Pilot fight resumes ahead of polls next year

August 17, 2022
Happening Now

Azad quits J&K Cong panel within hours of appointment

August 17, 2022
Happening Now

Meira Kumar says ‘Chamar’ used as slur against her father

August 17, 2022
IPA Special

Prime Minister’s Five Pledges On Independence Day Mean Very Little To Poor

August 16, 2022
IPA Special

Labour Movement Has Lost Its Earlier Striking Power

August 16, 2022
IPA Special

Decoding My Seventy-Two Years In Independent India

August 16, 2022
IPA Special

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Achhe Din’ Now Needs 25 Years More

August 16, 2022
IPA Special

Donald Trump Is On Dock Over FBI Seizures Of Classified Documents From His House

August 16, 2022
IPA Special

Bihar Developments Are Going To Have Impact In Uttar Pradesh In 2024 Polls

August 16, 2022
IPA Special

Amrit Mahotsava Has Been Turned Into A Big Jumla By Sangh Parivar

August 16, 2022
IPA Special

For Global Arms Dealers, Russian War In Ukraine Is A Big Bonanza

August 16, 2022

An appeal

The legacy of IPA, founded by Nikhil Chakravartty, the doyen of journalism in India, to keep the flag of independent media flying high, is facing the threat of extinction due to the effect of the Covid pandemic. Only an emergency funding can avert such an eventuality. We appeal to all those who believe in the freedom of expression to contribute to this noble cause.
Click here to learn more

Share

Reply

  • 0
More on IPA

BJP Leaders Have Started Course For Overthrow Of Nitish Kumar Regime

August 17, 2022 3:33 pm | IPA Staff

  By Arun Srivastava   It was certainly not a coincidence that on the day Prime   Minister was addressing the Independence   Day rally, Amit Shah...

IPA Special

Decoding My Seventy-Two Years In Independent India-Part Two

August 17, 2022 3:32 pm | IPA Staff

  By Nitya Chakraborty   In 1960, at the global level, the most important development was the World Conference of the   communist parties, the result...

IPA Special

Reining In ‘Freebies’ Needs Thorough Debate

August 17, 2022 3:30 pm | IPA Staff

By Dr. Gyan Pathak   The ongoing freebies case in the Supreme Court of India has reached an interesting stage with the DMK seeking to...

IPA Special

Release Of The Eleven Imprisoned Rapists Of Bilkis Bano Is Atrocious

August 17, 2022 3:30 pm | IPA Staff

By Sushil Kutty   Monday, the eleven   persons   who gang-raped Bilkis Bano during the 2002 Gujarat communal riots walked free. The panel that let them...

IPA Special

BJP Leaders Have Started Course For Overthrow Of Nitish Kumar Regime

in IPA Special
Aug 17, 2022   ·  

Decoding My Seventy-Two Years In Independent India-Part Two

in IPA Special
Aug 17, 2022   ·  

Reining In ‘Freebies’ Needs Thorough Debate

in IPA Special
Aug 17, 2022   ·  

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Follow us on
Up Next: Ram Gopal Varma in trouble over tweet on Droupadi Murmu
©2020 -2021 India Press Agency, All Rights Reserved
Newspack by India Press Agency
Posting....
logo
  • Home
  • now
  • politics
  • business
  • markets