There was no doubt at all that Pranab Mukherjee’s journey to Rashtrapati Bhavan was gojng to be a smooth one. And Sangma was correct to bank on miracles for the tide to turn in his favour. The miracle never happened. But the fact remains that this is the most hotly contested presidential election. Mukherjee got 69% of the votes while PA Sangma secured 31%. At the press conference following his defeat, Sangma proposed a code of conduct for the presidential election. This is an issue that merits debate and perhaps it is also time to depoliticize the office of president so that non-political stalwarts also get to adorn this high office. The likes of president Radhakrisnan further elevated this high office because of their personal integrity and intellectual eminence.
Sadly this country is not moving in the right direction in nearly all spheres and politics is certainly the worst for wear. Sangma gave a broad hint to the media that the UPA nominee won by conceding to the whims and fancies of state chief ministers for outrageous amounts by way of development funds. He pointed at the Rs 90,000 crore proposed development fund for Uttar Pradesh. Sangma also insinuated that the Chief Ministers of Nagaland and Sikkim capitulated to the UPA diktat because they were under duress from the Centre. Above all, Sangma asserted that the nation lost an opportunity to elect a minority tribal to the highest office in the land. While all these comments could also be termed the ravings of a bad loser, Sangma’s call for a code on how presidential poll should be conducted need to be taken seriously.
The presidential election also exposed the fractures in political parties across this country. The Shiv Sena voted for the UPA candidate. So did some BJP MLAs in Karnataka. Clearly the political parties have not been able to win the confidence of their own party MLAs. While this may not be unexpected in a presidential election, the BJP seems to have come out of this issue somewhat troubled. No one except Ravi Shankar Prasad agreed to give his comments to the media. Other BJP members were incommunicado. And the impermanence that marks political relationship is demonstrated by none other than West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee. The lady who was sulking a few weeks ago has now agreed to attend the swearing in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on July 25. As for Sangma he now has to reconfigure his political future.
