Not Again

Yes, it is official. President APJ Abdul Kalam will not seek a second term as the President of this wonderful country. He had been insisting on certainty of victory, and the equation didn't look favorable. Here's an analysis of the votes from http://www.ndtv.com/

If everyone votes along party lines, the votes are lined up as follows.The UNPA votes, which are already committed for Kalam, add up to 1,06,281 votes.

If the NDA throws its weight behind Kalam, and that doesn't seem likely at present, that's another 3,54,689 votes. This would mean a total of some 4,60,970 votes.

But the Congress-Left combine, which has proposed Pratibha Patil for President, already controls a majority - a total of around 5,70,000 votes.

So for Kalam to win, he will have to get about 55,000 votes from legislators that are part of the UPA-Left combine.

This was clearly not happening. And hence the decision not to contest.

Scan the internet and you will see countless messages, comments, appeals, etc, urging President Kalam to continue. Alas! As the sad tales of politics will have it. Mrs. Patil is on song and will grace the Rashtrapati Bhavan for the next five years. However, the opposing parties are already digging for information to malign her reputation and credibility. Here's a story from Rediff

Election to the Presidency

The President of India is about to be elected soon. The prime contenders who have emerged the last two weeks of political drama are the Congress candidate Mrs. Pratibha Patil who is currently the Governor of Rajasthan and the Third Front candidate President Kalam. BJP and its alliances are yet to come out with their candidate or support for any one of these two illustrious personalities.

Most political analysts had written off President Kalam’s second term. Well, he wasn’t very popular with the current leadership at the Centre. He doesn’t believe in being a rubber stamp President, he has his opinion and chooses to voice it. In the last four years he has been the people’s President, a man so humble, yet so great. I would personally love to see him in the Office of the President of India for another term.

No offence, however, is meant to Mrs. Patil, Governor of Rajasthan, nor her candidature. Maybe next time. And no offence to women either. The Congress party may think that having a woman President would solve its problems and would serve as a means to show respect to women. Undoubtedly! But passing the Women’s Reservation Bill would make a much bigger difference in the lives of thousands of women across the country. Why have they been stalling it?

Personally, I stand apolitical. But the love and respect that President Kalam commands, forces me to write this bit and stand by him.

You can find more information about the President here and here