NDA candidate and former Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind has been elected India's 14th president and will be only the second Dalit leader after RK Narayanan since Independence to occupy India's highest ceremonial post. In the final vote count, Kovind received 65.6 per cent votes translating into 702,044 electoral college votes, while UPA candidate Meira Kumar managed to get 34.35 per cent (367,314 votes).
It is for the first time in seven decades the top three political positions in the country are held by persons with RSS-BJP background. It was either people of Congress background or non-BJP leanings who held these positions in recent times, except for Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was elected Prime Minister in 1998 as head of a coalition government. Kovind, hailing from Uttar Pradesh was a strong favourite in the presidential race right from the beginning and the wide acceptance he received from across the political spectrum including Nitish Kumar and Mulayam Singh Yadav is an example. Even during his tenure as governor of Bihar, Nitish had broken all opposition ranks to support him and this itself reflected how Kovind remained unbiased in his dealings.
Dalit as president is not only a political masterstroke by the Modi-Amit Shah combine, but also a strategic move to woo the community. The BJP have been lately concerned about the growing restiveness among the Dalits, particularly after Una, Saharanpur and Rohith Vemula, which antagonised young and educated Dalits. BJP's winning move in Kovind could possibly help in retrieving the situation. It conveys two messages. One is to thank the Dalit community for their support and secondly it will be seen as BJP showing concern about the welfare of Dalits.
As Kovind takes his chair, there are tough challenges that await. The first would be to ease off the pain and restore the lost pride of Dalits, who have been suffering for the past three years. Secondly, Dalits will bank on him to usher a change for their effective representation in different institutions of government. The third challenge for Kovind will be to match the political acumen of Narayanan, the first Dalit president. Can Kovind uphold constitutional values in the way Narayanan did? Can he raise the voice of the Dalits? Time will tell. Kovind may be keeping a low profile, but he is a seasoned politician, with experience of parliamentary functioning and also of legal affairs having practised in the Supreme Court, all of which should stand him in good stead. We shouldn't pre-judge or undermine Kovind. As president he deserves the entire nation's respect due to his office, irrespective of the politics.
It is for the first time in seven decades the top three political positions in the country are held by persons with RSS-BJP background. It was either people of Congress background or non-BJP leanings who held these positions in recent times, except for Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was elected Prime Minister in 1998 as head of a coalition government. Kovind, hailing from Uttar Pradesh was a strong favourite in the presidential race right from the beginning and the wide acceptance he received from across the political spectrum including Nitish Kumar and Mulayam Singh Yadav is an example. Even during his tenure as governor of Bihar, Nitish had broken all opposition ranks to support him and this itself reflected how Kovind remained unbiased in his dealings.
Dalit as president is not only a political masterstroke by the Modi-Amit Shah combine, but also a strategic move to woo the community. The BJP have been lately concerned about the growing restiveness among the Dalits, particularly after Una, Saharanpur and Rohith Vemula, which antagonised young and educated Dalits. BJP's winning move in Kovind could possibly help in retrieving the situation. It conveys two messages. One is to thank the Dalit community for their support and secondly it will be seen as BJP showing concern about the welfare of Dalits.
As Kovind takes his chair, there are tough challenges that await. The first would be to ease off the pain and restore the lost pride of Dalits, who have been suffering for the past three years. Secondly, Dalits will bank on him to usher a change for their effective representation in different institutions of government. The third challenge for Kovind will be to match the political acumen of Narayanan, the first Dalit president. Can Kovind uphold constitutional values in the way Narayanan did? Can he raise the voice of the Dalits? Time will tell. Kovind may be keeping a low profile, but he is a seasoned politician, with experience of parliamentary functioning and also of legal affairs having practised in the Supreme Court, all of which should stand him in good stead. We shouldn't pre-judge or undermine Kovind. As president he deserves the entire nation's respect due to his office, irrespective of the politics.
