One for all, all for one

The Constitution of India continues to reveal its genius. As the presidential election draws closer, a strong whiff of partisan politicking can be felt. In such a fractured Parliament, with state assemblies too dominated by a diversity of national and regional parties, the mechanism for the election of the president is showing itself to be an antidote to ugly partisanship. The way the votes in the electoral college stack up, the ruling UPA is not really in a position to instal its candidate in Rashtrapati Bhavan on its own. Neither is the NDA. Therefore, those leaders given to getting their way because they sit on or alongside the treasury benches would be advised to avoid making the election an issue of prestige or showmanship. That way lies political gain, as well as insurance against politicisation of the office of the president.

The situation is really no different than it was five years ago when A.P.J. Abdul Kalam became a bipartisan choice. Then too the ruling NDA could not have brought in a candidate of its choice on its own. It had to abandon its preferred candidates. By design or out of compulsion, both the NDA and the Congress went along with the unexpected proposal to have Kalam as president. The consequence has been healthy; if at all there has been any controversy about his decisions or actions, it has never once been put down to any political orientation. This is valuable. The one circumstance in which the president becomes so much more than an elegant rubber stamp is in a divided polity. To be truly effective as a steadying force, he or she must therefore be above suspicion of playing to any one political agenda.

The ruling alliance was lucky that a candidature acceptable to the widest possible spectrum fortuitously presented itself. The UPA may need to be more pro-active. The option of having a pliant 8212; or at the very least, dependably sympathetic 8212; president is tempting for any government or the parties that support it. But they must know that the option simply does not exist in the present electoral college.