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Who will be India’s next president?

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Ashok Upadhyay
Ashok UpadhyayMar 28, 2017 | 16:24

Who will be India’s next president?

India's President Pranab Mukherjee is due to retire in July. The buzz is already in the air about his possible successor.

For the first time in the nation's political history, it's the BJP that is now set to have a candidate of its choice elected as head of state.

After the landslide of the party and its allies in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and its rise to power in Manipur and Goa, the ruling NDA is just short of 25,000 votes in its electoral college for the presidency. This shortage is quite bridgeable - parties like the Biju Janata Dal and the AIADMK can step in to fill the gap should they wish to.

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So, India is very close to getting its first president from the saffron brigade: the Sangh Parivar.

Various names are doing the round for this job. Let’s have a look at some of them.

Mohan Bhagwat

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Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has pitched RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the presidency, saying his elevation would finally turn India into a Hindu Rashtra.

"It is the highest post in the country. Somebody with a clean image should occupy it. We have heard Mohan Bhagwat's name is being discussed for president. If India has to be made a Hindu Rashtra, Bhagwat will be a good choice for president," news reports quoted Raut as having suggested.

Born on September 11, 1950, in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, Bhagwat graduated in veterinary sciences and animal husbandry.

One of the RSS's youngest heads, he is described as "straightforward".

Positive: Has a clean image and if he gives his consent, the entire Sangh Parivar will put its weight behind him. He can not only be the first Sangh chief to occupy public office but also the only member of the Sangh to get the president’s job.

Negative: He may be the choice of the saffron brigade but can’t be a consensus candidate.

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LK Advani

The Financial Express has done a story based on reports from Zee News. According to it, PM Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah proposed Advani’s name for president in a party meet held at Somnath on March 8. The report further said the proposal was made in the presence of senior BJP leaders and, if reports are to be believed, Modi also hinted that this would be his gift or "guru dakshina" to Advani.

One of the senior-most and respected political leaders in India, Advani is the man who brought BJP at the centre-stage of Indian politics. He served as the minister of home affairs and as deputy PM under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was the political guru of Modi, but in the last few years, it seems, this relationship has soured.

Positive: If Modi proposes his name, he may emerge as consensus candidate because of his vast administrative experience.

Negative: The Babri Masjid demolition case may mar his chances. The Supreme Court is already deliberating over the issue.

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The Babri Masjid demolition case is hanging around the neck of Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. 

Murli Manohar Joshi

Former BJP president and one of its trimurti along with Vajpayee and Advani, Joshi has long experience in public life. He served as cabinet minister in all three governments formed by Vajpayee. Modi was part of BJP’s 1992 Ekta Yatra in Kashmir, which was led by Joshi, then BJP president.

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Unlike with Advani, Modi actually does not have a strained relationship with Joshi. He also left his own constituency Varanasi for Modi in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and never complained. Joshi was born on January 3, 1934, and finished doctorate studies from Allahabad University. One of his teachers was professor Rajendra Singh, who later became an RSS sarsanghchalak.

Positive: With huge administrative and organisational experience, Joshi has the potential to emerge as a consensual candidate.

Negative: The Babri Masjid demolition case is hanging around his neck like an albatross and may derail his presidential ambition.

Najma Heptulla

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Though originally from the Congress, Heptulla is a late entrant in the BJP. Speaking to Swati Chaturvedi, she made her presidential ambition clear. "I had told Ram Lal earlier and then told Mr Shah recently that I was going to contest and would want the party to support me for whichever job they believe I am fit. I have run the House for 17 years and think I can do a good job," she said.

She became deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha in 1985 and was elected to the Upper House five times. Currently the governor of Manipur, Heptulla has also served as Union minister in the Modi government. She contested the vice-presidential election as an NDA candidate in 2007 but lost to Hamid Ansari.

Positive: She has occupied several positions both as a member of Congress and BJP. Has a clean image. Electing a woman from a minority community may help Modi in correcting his image, which many think is pro-Hindu.

Negative: May not get endorsement from the Sangh Parivar.

Last updated: March 28, 2017 | 16:24
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