By Prashant Chauhan:
Yet another election concluded in world’s largest democracy. However it being an indirect one (our elected representatives; i.e. Members of Parliament [MP] and Members of Legislative Assemblies [MLA] only vote) so it did not include any hard work for the general public. Even though this time, people propelled by the media took a keen interest in the race of an individual to the Raisina Hills palace meant for the highest constitutional post in our country, the President. Results are out; Mr Pranab Mukherjee (from now on His Excellency Pranab Mukherjee) won it by a huge margin. Being a candidate of ruling coalition it was not a difficult chase for him, but the numbers astonished everyone as he was competed by the lesser known “political mortal” P.A. Sangma.
This time almost each party was playing a “Game of Thrones” for their respective candidates. Eminent names like A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Hamid Ansari, Manmohan Singh, etc. were put up under consideration by different regional parties. On one hand Mukherjee was United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate and on the other Sangma was chosen by Tamil Nadu CM, J. Jayalalitha first and then National Democratic Alliance (NDA) seconded that. Mr Sangma was a playing a game which he already lost before it actually started and Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) did what an opposition can do best.
UPA was horrifyingly looking to place their person at the top spot; because they already know their fate in 2014 General Elections. As I can predict, no single party will gain majority in the lower house, and again will start ‘coalition parodies’; and our new President will play an active role in the formation of the government. Certain noticeable and suspicious decisions like “hefty packages” for states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal just before the elections, raised many eyebrows. This is what I call the “Dance of Democracy” where all your political wishes can come true, just by orchestrating your MP’s and MLA’s to the tunes of current government heads.
Now this dance is finished and I hope that our 13th President H.E. Pranab Mukherjee, will be a man of honour and independent decisions; who can rise above partisan politics and can enhance the stature of the highest seat; which is still feeling disgruntled by its current holder, “A lady with Granny-like face and Nanny-like decisions”.