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| Cross voting isn't ruled out during Presidential poll | | Karan Singh fails to act as man of excellence | |
BL KAK
NEW DELHI, JUNE 15: Belonging to a very special category of literary personalities, Karan Singh, though going about as a senior leader of the Congress party, has disappointed a large number of his admirers, particularly from the community of writers and scholars, by his performance in support of his 'dream' to succeed APJ Abdul Kalam as President of India. An ordinary person in the Indian capital did not fail to read the writing on the wall--that is, Sonia Gandhi, at no stage, wanted to field Karan Singh as a candidate for Presidential poll. And most newspapers and journals had also aptly assessed that Karan Singh was not number one in the race for the post of new President.
Karan Singh has had every right to try for his elevation on the Indian scene. However, as a person regarded by all and sundry as totally different from, and "indeed superior" to, most of the Indian politicians, Karan Singh was expected by his admirers to go about as a dignified personality in search of the high office which he possibly wanted to be his by virtue of his qualification and experience. Instead of making use of interlocutors, Karan Singh himself went from one place to another, in an apparent bid to see his name on the top of the list of Congress-UPA candidates for the President's post.
Surprisingly, even after having been cold-shouldered by "arrogant" leaders of the Left parties, Karan Singh did not prevent himself from making more desperate attempts to see himself as a Presidential candidate acceptable to most in the Congress party and its allies. If there was any doubt about it, it was set at rest by Karan Singh himself when he met the DMK supremo and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M Karunanidhi, in New Delhi hours before the name of Pratibha Patil was announced by Congress president, Sonia Gandhi.
Before Karan Singh's meeting with Karunanidhi, one thing had become very clear--that is, Karunanidhi's understanding with Sonia Gandhi. And since Sonia had not projected Karan Singh as a person of her choice, there was no need for him (Karan Singh) to woo the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister--and that too after the Left parties had rejected Karan Singh's name.
Powerful woman (Sonia Gandhi) also failed to counter the Left parties' opposition to her favourite, Shivraj Patil, Minister for Home Affairs. Finally, she was forced to relent. No wonder, Rajasthan Governor, Pratibha Patil, emerged the surprise choice as nominee of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and Left Front. With this the curtain was brought down on what was threatening to become an embarrassment due to a prolonged deadlock.
Pratibha Patil, 72, emerged the consensus choice to take on Vice-President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, at July 19 polling from among nearly half a dozen names that were discussed through a process of elimination. In the end, it was a win-win situation for all concerned. An adamant Left, which earlier in the day rejected all three names proposed by Sonia, had their say as they suggested nominating a woman. Sonia, who was rooting for Shivraj Patil loyal to her family, also got what she wanted. However, instead of her original choice, Shivraj Patil, she had to settle for Pratibha Patil.
The Left rejected the names of Shivraj Patil, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and veteran leader Karan Singh, saying they did not fulfil the criteria decided by them. Among women names discussed, Congress Working Committee member Mohsina Kidwai lost out as she was seen as a lightweight candidate besides the fact that the ruling coalition was not in favour of nominating a Muslim as President since the outgoing President APJ Abdul Kalam also belongs this community.
In the end, the choice was between Pratibha Patil and veteran Gandhian Nirmala Deshpande who lost out to the former since she is five years older than Pratibha and is not politically active. Another factor that went in favour of Pratibha Patil is that she is married to a Shekhawat. Although Pratibha Patil does not use this surname, when reminded, Sonia pronounced her name as Pratibha Patil Shekhawat. Vice-President Shekhawat, who is likely to file his nomination as an opposition-sponsored independent, may also have forced Sonia to opt for Patil.
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat called on his fellow Rajput community leaders, former Prime Ministers, Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Chandra Shekhar to seek their support. The move was seen as his preparation to induce cross voting by Rajput members of the electoral collage, prompting Sonia to opt for Pratibha Patil, who is married to a person from that community, as this may nullify the caste factor.
While Pratibha Patil fulfilled the Left criterion that the presidential nominee must be secular and have deep knowledge of the constitution, she somewhat lacks the high stature that the Left wanted in order to check Shekhawat, who is famous as a political manipulator and is banking on cross-voting from UPA allies to emerge the winner in what is promising to be the most keenly contested presidential poll ever in the country.
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