Date:27/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/27/stories/2007062750441000.htm

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Regionalism galore

The Shiv Sena, a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance, has declared that it will support UPA candidate Pratibha Patil in the presidential election. The reason — Ms. Patil is from Maharashtra and her family has been staying there for 300 years.

On the other hand, Natwar Singh, a former Congress Union Minister, is one of the prominent signatories to the nomination papers of Bhairon Singh Shekhawat — candidate backed by the NDA. He has attributed his support to Mr. Shekhawat being a son of Rajasthan. How unfortunate that the election to the august office of President should be swayed by regional considerations!

R. Ramachandra Rao,
Hyderabad

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One wonders whether the election to the highest office is national or regional.

The Shiv Sena has even defied the BJP, its ally of 21 years, for upholding regional chauvinism.

J.P. Reddy,
Nalgonda

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The Sena’s refusal to support Mr. Shekhawat reinforces the fact that regionalism is an important component of Indian politics. No coalition compulsions; it is region first and nation later for the Sena.

Shiv Pratap,
New Delhi

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The Shiv Sena has always thrived on hardline parochialism and linguistic chauvinism.

It is no surprise that the party has unabashedly cited its regional preference as the reason for supporting the UPA’s candidate.

V.N. Mukundarajan,
Thiruvananthapuram

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With the Shiv Sena backing the UPA-Left candidate, the dice is heavily loaded against Mr. Shekhawat. It would be better for him to retire gracefully.

D.B.N. Murthy,
Bangalore

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Politics indeed makes strange bedfellows! It is common knowledge that the Sena is opposed tooth and nail to the Congress-led UPA. Just because the candidate hails from Maharashtra, it has put all other considerations on the backburner.

H.P. Murali,
Bangalore

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The run-up to the presidential election has thoroughly exposed the NDA. By the time the election is over, the alliance will be a shambles. The NDA stood exposed the moment it decided to field Mr. Shekhawat as an independent candidate.

While it first appeared that Ms. Patil would struggle to win the election, the events of the past few days have shown that the UPA-Left combine is politically more mature.

N. Sekar,
Salem