Choosing the First Person

by Nabeel A. Khan

June 19, 2007

The so called third front hit another blow packaged with a proposal of Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam continuing for a second term. Even in the previous session Samajwadi Party proposed his name and he was appointed with full consensus. Here begins the story of placing a symbolic person to high position. We can’t deny the fact that the then ruling coalition (NDA) used Mr. Kalam as a symbol of minority’s empowerment. As they have tried to create a secular image of their coalition among minority. No party could stand against the grand candidature of Mr. Kalam. Mr. Kalam has been proved highly efficient and successful as the first citizen of India.

He is the most popular president after Dr. Rajendra Prasad and if re-elected, the second president to be re-elected for the top job in the history of the republic of India. Now question before us is that whether the third front is able to persuade Mr. Kalam to file the nomination for a second term as Mr. Kalam has already made it clear that he would go for a second term with full consensus only. Apparently with the declaration of third front, the NDA expressed its agreement for Mr. Kalam continuing but felt that the third front coalition has come up very late with its opinion so Bhairon Singh Shekhawat as an independent candidate will get NDA’s support. So in this case it seems that there is very little chance of Mr. Kalam coming forward.

The story unfolds with UPA’s nomination of its stalwarts. They put six names before their allies but left could not agree on the candidature of Shiv Raj Patil, Pranab Mukherjee, Karan Singh etc. citing some objections. Mr. Prakash Karat proposed the idea of appointing a first lady. The UPA starts working on it and perhaps finds Pratibha Patil the most suitable name. There is some speculation regarding behind the proposal of her candidature. The UPA perhaps wanted a candidate who could fight with Shekhawat as she is married to a Shekhawat this will help in creating a chance of getting support of the Thakurs. She has a Marathi lineage which will strengthen the chance of her victory. Yet another aspect is that the UPA chairperson wanted a loyalist in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

These are some points that the opposition flashing for not being in awe of her candidature. So shall we find her impeccable six term career as an MLA to which she started as 26 yrs old young lady. She skillfully accomplished the role of an opposition leader and now as the Governor of Rajasthan. Her sober and non-controversial career undoubtedly attracted the attention. The party sought for a fist lady for the empowerment of women. Now it is upon us to decide how successful this idea is. In a population of a billion where everyday thousands of women are killed even before being born, many of them are trapped under domestic violence and put through many inhuman experiences. Can one woman occupying the top position bring escape for these suffering hoards? We have already many women occupying top position in many states. Do we see any kind of change in the behavior of society against weaker sex? No doubt women empowerment is a great idea but the process should relate to the masses.

The empowerment must reach every section of the society instead of being for a closed group. So the person going to replace the immaculate, adroit, and impeccable Mr. Kalam must be judged in every manner. The person should not be a product of shoddy politics as we don’t know how many summers we will have to wait for such grand man at president office. Presidential election is something which should be kept out of party politics but it is quite impossible. Still the choice of president at least should not be made on a made-up image but by default candidature of a candidate.
 

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