The Hindu : Vice-President election and the BJP agenda

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 04, 2002

National

National

Vice-President election and the BJP agenda

By K. K. Katyal

NEW DELHI JULY 3. For the National Democratic Alliance, the election of the new Vice-President may be another BJP-centric exercise. Strategy managers of the ruling alliance are clear about their plan of action: they will choose — without even the formality of consultation with the Opposition — a person with confirmed BJP credentials. It may be the Rajasthan leader, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, or someone else in that category. Or it may be L. M. Singhvi, BJP member of the Rajya Sabha, if a touch of moderation is to be imparted.

At one stage, the possibility of accommodating the Telugu Desam was mooted, obviously to compensate it for the loss of Speakership, but nothing has been heard of it, of late.

The Vice-President is chosen by the members of the two Houses of Parliament and the NDA has a safe majority. This was evident during the voting on POTO, at the joint sitting of the two Houses. Given this line-up, the NDA — the BJP, in particular — sees no need for a consensus. A consensus could involve give and take but the BJP is in no mood for it. Even in the case of the Presidential election, where the NDA had a slight lead in the electoral college, no attempt was made for a meaningful dialogue, and, in the final analysis, the ruling side presented the Opposition with a fait accompli under the facade of consultations. There are no real compulsions in the present case to take the Opposition into confidence.

The NDA makes no secret of the unilateral approach it has in mind. On the eve of the Presidential election, it spurned suggestions for a package deal on the two high offices. And now, after having outmanoeuvred the Opposition in the choice of the President, it will not let others have a say in the candidate for the number two post.

With that, the BJP will complete the process of cornering key positions at the Centre. It began with securing the office of the Speaker for Manohar Joshi, member of its closest ally, Shiv Sena. Then came the nomination of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam for the Presidency — his success in the election is a foregone conclusion. True, he is one of the most distinguished technocrats the country has produced, coming into the limelight over four years ago with the nuclear tests, shortly after the assumption of office by the BJP-led coalition, as also with the development of missiles. That may have been one of the considerations that weighed with the BJP in fielding him for the Presidency. But there were other factors — for instance, his religion. His choice, it was perhaps felt, would help the Central Government wash off the stains of Gujarat and counter the BJP's reputation as a communal party.

Dr. Kalam, beholden to the BJP for his nomination, it was felt, may not be unhelpful in a difficult situation in the future. In practice, it may not work that way — Dr. Kalam, essentially a non-politician, may not compromise on judgmental independence — but that is a different story.

Had the BJP seniors not been keen on the choice of "our man,'' they would not have gone back on their earlier proposal to elevate the Vice-President, Krishan Kant. And the recent reshuffle of the Union Cabinet — if at all there was an underlying method, it was the calculation for consolidating the BJP.

The choice of the presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha is extremely important to the BJP. In this House, the NDA is heavily outnumbered.

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