Go by popular consensus

Again, it was not because of any established convention that his successors were not given another term. On each occasion, it suited both the ruling and Opposition parties.

The present incumbent enjoys great support among parties, both ruling and opposition. But there is a greater degree of absence of consensus with regard to other front-runners. Needless to say, there is no statutory requirement to give or not to give another term for the person occupying the office of the President.

In the case of the greatest democratic country in the world, which we want to emulate, the convention was broken after 140 years. When it came to the question of electing President Roosevelt again, the convention was broken. Giving the President of the United States of America another term got statutory sanction after decades. So many names have been floated for the next President of India.

Is there any consensus on them among the constituents of the National Democratic Alliance or, for that matter, in the BJP itself? What should disturb all is the bargaining that is reportedly going on in the name of arriving at a consensus on a person to head the Republic. Political consensus is desirable and welcome. But selection of a candidate on the basis of bargaining, especially at this juncture, will not be in the interest of the nation.

A greater degree of consensus among the political parties, both in the Opposition and on the treasury benches, is necessary. Apart from consensus, health is also mentioned by certain quarters as one factor which is not in favour of the present incumbent. K. R. Narayanan’s health is as good as that of any of the names mentioned for this post.

The presidential candidate should be acceptable to the nation as a whole. There should be greater consensus among the people than among the political parties. Going to the press with their respective preferences have not done any good to the high office of the President. That could have been avoided.

Instead of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi separately going to the President and indicating their respective position and announcing it to the press, they should have consulted each other after completing the consultations among their partners and party leaders. That would have been a more reasonable way to arrive at a consensus.

It is apparent that to bring about a consensus among the NDA is a difficult task as some major partners of the NDA will be indulging in bargaining. Should the candidate for the highest office emerge out of bargain politics? It is a fact that there is no consensus candidate among the NDA or in the Opposition. The Congress does not have the majority and it is difficult for them to manage it. Similar is the case with the People’s Front of which the Left parties are an important component.

The NDA too does not have majority. They have to bargain for support with parties like the Telugu Desam. Since there is a general desire to have a consensus candidate, they should have wider consultations.

From the open statements of all parties there seems to be a greater acceptance of Narayanan than the names appearing in the press. If the BJP and other NDA partners sit together, they may find greater consensus in favour of Narayanan than any of the other names.

During his tenure, Narayanan has upheld the Constitution and also the prestige of the country. Objectively speaking, even the BJP or the ruling NDA will not have anything against him on the stand he had taken on various issues during the last five years. And there will be a greater degree of consensus among the people of the country in his favour than anyone else. He will not carry any baggage with him.

The writer is a former editor of the Malayalam daily, ‘Mathrubhoomi’