Indian Presidential Race

The Left's are Wimps, The Right's are Crazy

Left: Shivraj Patil??
Kalam: I will continue….I will continue….
Right: Sherkhawat??
Kalam: Can I continue for god’s sake??
Left: Laloooo??
Kalam: I will continue The presidents office needs a good statesman
Right: What about Amitabh or Rajini??
Kalam: Ok, I am quitting the race now
Left: Ah, Pratibha Patil then?
Right: Perfect choice. She is old, cluesless, talks to spirits and is totally under the control of “The Madam”.

It is interesting to see that the one person who cannot be at the helm of the country (henceforth "The Madam"), still undoubtedly wields the power that no Indian has. I am actually not surprised that the presidential candidate is someone whom the madam has personally recommended and there is just really one reason she has been picked - She is a staunch Gandhi/Nehru family loyalist and thereby has proved her worth to the highest office of the nation. WHAT!!!!!!

As sad as it may sound, all the numbers look good for Pratibha Patil and she is well on her way to create history (on paper) to become the first woman to hold the country's highest office (does not matter she will do nothing while in office).

Neither is she a political heavyweight nor have Indians heard of her before her name started doing the rounds. Sure, her credentials include her brother being accused of murder, she has defaulted more than 17 crores loan out of a bank, she is a defendant is a class action lawsuit and has swindled 5 crores from a trust she was responsible for. But come on, what are her real qualifications? What has she accomplished in Indian politics? Has she shaped or framed any policies which have been implemented? What has she done for Indian politics apart from being a do nothing cabinet minister?? Does she have any influence over other political heavyweights? Has she driven economic or other development in her state?? Can she accomplish anything at all in the 5 years she willl be in office?

Sadly, the answers seems to elude everyone and I for one am shocked how all the parties are engaging in dirty politics to ensure their candidate wins at any cost. Considering the fact that it is Abdul Kalam's shoes that she is going to fill, it almost makes me cringe that while Kalam has openly said he is ready to take on another term, he surprisingly has won very few friends supporting him (Go Jayalalitha!!). While the people of the country overwhelmingly want him to continue (polls indicate he has 80+% support of the country), it means nothing.

Here is a fact which is known to very few people. The President of India is elected by the ruling party. Not the people of india, not the educated man, not the masses, not the people who help elect the government. Just a few people in the ruling party, in this case the madam, single-handedly, has the power to select the president of the country to represent more than a billion people. Ridiculous huh??

Just when India is entering the most important economic phase in history, just when the entire world is turning its eyes towards India, it is indeed sad to see the so called largest democracy showing the world how the political games are played and in a strange way proving that the people's opinion (actually a billion opinions) dont really count. This presidential election will no doubt go down as one of the murkiest in history and very few indians are genuinely going to be able to respect their president for the next 5 years.

Heck, it is public knowledge that Pratibha Patil was not even Congress' first choice as a candidate, but I guess the only qualification that one requires in order to rise to political prominence in India is keep sucking up to the Ghandhi family all your life and maybe, just maybe when you are turn 70+, you can become the President or even the Prime Minister of India.