The victory of NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu in the presidential election held on Monday was a foregone conclusion but when it came about, it turned out to be bigger than expected. Murmu won the votes of not only the NDA, its allies and the parties that have supported it in parliament but also of some who were not friendly to it or have even opposed it. This has happened across legislatures and in parliament, which make up the electoral college. That gives the new President a wider base of support across the political spectrum. This should really be so, for the country’s highest office should be above politics. She is set to be the first tribal woman to become the country’s ‘First Citizen’ and that has a symbolic value in a country where the status of both women and the tribal population leaves much to be desired. Her office is largely titular and ceremonial, and it is for her to rise above all divisions and be the nation’s President.
The Opposition wasted its opportunity to pose a credible challenge to the NDA in the election as it chose a candidate who was no match for Murmu. Yashwant Sinha may have held high official and ministerial positions, but he was not the right candidate to take on Murmu. As a person who had a long association with the BJP but had a turned a critic of the party, he could not have presented a political counter to the idea the BJP put forward with its candidate. In fact, his candidature became an embarrassment with some parties in the Opposition camp declaring publicly their support for Murmu. Even the Trinamool Congress, which proposed his name, did not want him to go to Bengal for a campaign visit it as it did not want to be seen in his company. Any candidate would have lost the election, but the Opposition could have selected one who could have made a political point even in defeat. If there was a claim that the campaign for the 2024 election would start with the presidential election this year, it was a poor hope, and the campaign a non-starter.
The NDA’s choice of long-time party loyalist Jagdeep Dhankhar as the vice-presidential candidate is also a well-considered one. He is a former Governor of West Bengal, and is from the Jat community, which is dominant in parts of UP, Haryana and Rajasthan. The BJP has a support base in the community and Dhankhar’s candidature may become useful when Rajasthan goes to polls next year. The Opposition has again gone in for a no-contest with the candidature of a retired Congress politician, Margaret Alva, who is unlikely to make any impact.