At the end of the first phase of the Budget session in late March, the Congress and the UPA were in a bad shape.
At the end of the first phase of the Budget session in late March, the Congress and the UPA were in a bad shape. General VK Singh’s interview to The Hindu and the disclosure in this paper of his letter to the prime minister about the country’s defence unpreparedness, and the defeat of Congress in the Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Goa state assembly elections added to the woes of the down and out ruling party. And when talk turned to the issue of presidential election, it seemed quite clear that the Congress could not hope to place its own candidate in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, and that it would have to eat humble pie and reach out to allies and rivals and even accept a consensus candidate. The situation remained that way even after the Budget session resumed on April 22.
Asked about the prospects of presidential poll, the CPI-M and the BJP said it was for the Congress, the ruling party, to take the initiative and reach out to the opposition.
But the situation changed rather dramatically when defence minister and senior Congress leader AK Antony went to Chennai and called on DMK supremo M Karunanidhi. Antony had apparently broached the names of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and vice president Hamid Ansari. The BJP reacted sharply. The party’s senior leader and leader of opposition Sushma Swaraj said that it would not accept a Congress nominee - neither Mukherjee nor Ansari - and that it would make no deal with the Congress. The CPI-M has now indicated that it may not averse to Mukherjee or even Ansari.
It is of course much too early to say whether Congress would want to push either Mukherjee or Ansari. There is enough intrigue and uncertainty in the grand old party of India to ensure that it would come up with another name, the proverbial dark horse, as it did when it came up with the then obscure Pratibha Patil in 2007. The interesting point at the moment is that the Congress has taken its rivals by surprise, by making the first move and vigorously reaching out to its friends in and outside UPA. The opposition had no option but to react to the presidential probables thrown up by the Congress.
The presidential election is still two months away and there are likely to be plenty of turns and twists in the 2012 president’s elections. Congress is still capable of throwing away its own advantage. At the moment, the Congress has shown uncharacteristic energy and nimbleness. The Congress might have just thrown the opponents off the guard by mooting the names of Mukherjee and Ansari. The debate and discussion and speculation are now centered round these two - their qualifications, their chances and their acceptability. It appears as though the other parties do not have much chance of giving their own list of presidential candidates. They are at a disadvantage.
The BJP’s ploy to push for former president APJ Abul Kalam has backfired. It is a good opening for the Congress in the presidential contest. Can it retain the advantage till election time in July?
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