Who will be India’s next president?

Who will be India’s next president?
Here’s the great media round up (slightly tongue-in-cheek) about the topic nobody really knows the answer to – who will be India’s next President?


Pranab Mukherjee
Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi does not trust the man she nominated on Friday to become the next president of India, Pranab Mukherjee.


 A P J Abdul Kalam
He is a known quantity. Hopefully there are no nasty surprises there. “We always had a soft spot for Kalam,” a BJP secretary said. Given the anti-corruption fever these days the story of the retired scientist who was living in a single room in a university hostel in Chennai and did not even own a cell phone is a made-for-television dream narrative.
Congress, battered as it is, is still the largest party in power and it does not want the NDA’s leftovers. “Speculating over the Kalam’s name is a sheer waste of time,” a senior leader told The Telegraph. Also Mulayam Singh Yadav is slowly backing away from Kalam.


Hamid Ansari
Lalu Prasad Yadav gave him the nod of approval. He called him “competent”. The Left could support him because they had proposed his name for VP. He’s a career diplomat and knows how to handle himself.
Lalu Prasad Yadav gave him the nod of approval. The Opposition has not forgiven him for his infamous adjournment of the Rajya Sabha during the Lokpal debate. The Left wanted him as VP and whatever the Left proposes, Didi opposes.


Meira Kumar
Shaant ho jaaiye is a good catch phrase for Rashtrapati Bhavan. Her name is on every list as “a popular choice. Alas, Pratibha Patil has already fulfilled the women’s quota for now. The old boys club won’t be too keen to go for another woman quite so soon says Economic Times. So poor Meira Kumar, like her late father Jagjivan Ram, might be eternally the bridesmaid and never the bride.


Karan Singh
Karan Singh is a perennial favourite for this position. Hailing from the royal family of Kashmir he is a scholar and statesman. He is a political centrist and a known champion of inter-faith solidarity, which gives him acceptability. With over 60 years in public life including a stint at the United Nations, Singh is tailor-made for the job. But he may not have clout across the political spectrum to become a candidate.


Gopalkrishna Gandhi
He deserves serious consideration for the post. Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and C Rajagopalachari, he is a man of impeccable integrity and a thorough gentleman. Having been governor of West Bengal, secretary to the president and in the diplomatic services, he has had all the right public exposure.
Might be a little too independent minded and now low-profile enough for the powers that be (again that Nandigram reaction).  This will be very confusing to foreign media who will keep pinning him to the wrong Gandhi. Not to mention endlessly mangle his name into Ghandi.


Other technocrats: There are also three eminent corporate leaders who I feel are worthy of consideration: Ratan Tata, Azim Premji and N R Narayana Murthy. Ratan Tata will redefine statesmanship and do India proud. Sadly, in my view, he may not be too eager for this role at present as he still has a year of transition before he relinquishes the reins completely to Cyrus Mistry. Besides, Tata is a very private person and may not fit well with the regimented rigours of Delhi's public life.