India’s presidential election shapes up as an ‘ideological fight’

0

NEW DELHI: India’s presidential election is shaping up as an ideological fight as the two main contenders from the marginalised Dalit community vie for the largely ceremonial post.

A complex electoral college consisting of elected members of India’s federal parliament and state legislatures will pick the winner on July 17.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last month appeared to outsmart opposition parties when it made Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit leader and Bihar state governor, its nominee to succeed President Pranab Mukherjee, who completes his term on July 24.

Some parties complained that the BJP did not keep its promise of seeking a consensus candidate for the country’s top post, which grants its holder significant moral and constitutional authority.

Kovind’s candidacy was seen as a clever move by the BJP to present itself as a party that cared for the Dalit communities and not just for its traditional support base among Hindu upper castes.

As Dalits form an important vote bank that can swing election results in many parts of the country, it looked like a good strategy for the general elections due in 2019.

The BJP’s rivals had no choice but to neutralise such an advantage for their adversary. Seventeen opposition parties came up with their own joint Dalit candidate who is widely known and well-respected.

Meira Kumar is a diplomat-turned-politician and former speaker of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. Both Meira and Kovind are septuagenarians.

The caste and age similarities aside, the two are worlds apart in their political culture and ideological leanings.

Kovind is known as someone who subscribes to the hardline Hindutva politics of the BJP and its ideological boss Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) whereas Meira seeks to emphasise inclusiveness and the diversity of India.

Looking at the electoral college arithmetic, the BJP and its allies have the required numbers so Kovind becoming India’s next president is a foregone conclusion.

A member of the backward Koli community, Kovind will become the second Dalit after K R Narayanan to occupy the post.

However, the Congress-led opposition is not ready to concede defeat and Meira is challenging Kovind with a serious campaign to secure support.

Meira, however, doesn’t like the contest being dubbed as ‘Dalit versus Dalit’ and rejects the notion that she is being used as a scapegoat candidate.

“When an election to the highest office is being held, the Dalit issue is being raised. Earlier, the capabilities, merits and achievements of the two candidates used to be discussed and no one talked about their caste,” she said during campaign tours.

Her chances of winning may be weak, but as far as Meira is concerned the presidential election is an ideological fight in which India’s core democratic principles of freedom of speech, religious diversity, quest for equality and justice are at stake.

“Anybody fighting for an ideology and appealing to the voice of conscience cannot be a scapegoat. I am a fighter and I will fight and I am sure that many will join me in this fight,” she said.

Expressing concern over growing mob violence and communalism in the country, Meira said: “We feel that the coming days are going to be dark.”

Canvassing for votes, Kovind insisted he will be a non-partisan president.

“I will strive to keep the post of president above politics. I will try my best to see that every citizen and region gets justice in the socio-economic system … I will try to ensure that there is no discrimination on the basis of caste, sex, race, religion and region in the country,” he said.

India’s president is supposed to be above politics and a ceremonial head of state, but in practice his decisions and political outlook can affect the country’s federal polity in profound ways.

In critical situations, the president’s decisions can determine who governs a state and any withholding of approval to legislations can upset government.

India’s current tumultuous politics, which is witnessing an intensifying battle between the BJP and its rivals for the control of states, will ensure the next president wields more power than the figurehead status may suggest.

Shakhir Husain is Bernama’s correspondent in New Delhi. He writes on the developments in the Indian subcontinent. — Bernama