Presidential exam

When Pratibha Patil was catapulted from comfortable obscurity to Indias first female president,there was little in her record that was exceptional or easy to criticise. There was,after all,little that could be said about her,except that in a lengthy public life as state legislator,minister,deputy speaker of the Rajya Sabha and Rajasthans governor,she had done little to deserve opprobrium or attract approbation. Though the UPAs claim that she symbolised female empowerment never really washed,Pratibha-tais aversion to controversy led to a bloodless ascendancy. Faced with no difficult choices to make in these two years,she has been true to past form,with critics finding little to complain about.

Today,as the results on the 15th Lok Sabha come in,she faces her first big test. With most polls predicting a hung Parliament,the presidents discretion will likely matter. The stakes are high; how will the president handle her first big test? Legal eagles are battling over what criteria she should choose in a hung-House scenario. Should it be the single largest party,the biggest pre-poll alliance,or even a direct test on the floor of the House? Legal quibbles apart,the fact is that the Constitution is silent on the matter. The Supreme Court does offer a set of guidelines in the Rameshwar Prasad case,but these are only advisories,not binding. Pratibha-tai has plenty of leeway; she is not bound to follow any set choice. This leeway matters. Though any formation she picks must be legitimised on the floor of the House,the first-mover advantage her pick gets ensures that in a polity where horse-trading is endemic,her choice could garner enough votes in the interim period to win a majority on the floor of the House.

Unless the verdict is clear,whatever the president does will invite comment. But if she behaves in a transparent manner,listening to all parties,publicly consulting experts,and not rushing to judgment,justice would have seen to be done. That itself is sufficient; the floor test will take care of the rest. President Pratibha Patil must know that all eyes will be on her while she grapples with this the first big test of her presidency.