Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday dismissed suggestions put forward by NDA ally Shiv Sena that he be the next President of India, but that has focussed attention on just who could be the next First Citizen of the country.
Sources in the BJP say that the party’s national executive meet in Bhubaneswar will see some aspects of this debated in pull-aside meetings.
PM may share his idea
“The fact is that this issue has not been discussed at very senior levels at the party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pretty much kept his own counsel on the matter. We are anticipating that he will share some of his ideas on this when we are in Bhubhaneswar in the middle of April,” said a general secretary of the party.
The BJP’s national executive is to be held in Odisha’s capital on April 15-16.
Names doing the rounds
While the Prime Minister has not shared his list with anyone yet, sources say that names of several contenders have found favour with various quarters of the Sangh Parivar. These include former Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, former deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and even External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
V-P election
Surprise names making the rounds also include Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu and his Maharashtra counterpart Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, and for the post of Vice-President, the only UPA- era Governor having survived the NDA regime, S.C. Jamir, is in the reckoning, and his election may send a strong message to the North Eastern States.
“The thing to remember is that the ruling party is quite close to the numbers to get the President of its choice elected. The whole question is of political messaging. Whether to choose a woman president, if so, whether a tribal woman or not, or a president with an unimpeachable RSS background. The ruling party also wants bipartisan support for its choice,” said the source.
The election to the post of President will take place in July and the vice-presidential polls in August. “There is a long way to go yet, and many other names will, I am sure, be added to this list,” said the source.
