It's dalit vs dalit in Prez contest

When the BJP declared the name of Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind as its candidate for President, it became clear Mr Kovind will be the next occupant of Rashtrapati Bhavan. But meeting on Thursday in New Delhi, 17 Opposition parties, led by the Congress, offered the name of ex-diplomat and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar (2009-14), a stalwart dalit figure who also held Cabinet posts at the Centre, as their candidate.

Seen in the light of the relative weight of the two camps in Parliament and the state legislatures, there is no real contest. The BJP-led NDA is far ahead of its rivals in electoral college votes. But there can be no question that a genuine challenge to Hindutva politics and ideology has been presented by the Opposition. The parties at the meeting that chose Ms Kumar represent people from all corners of India.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who owes his current position to the support of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD and the Congress, has decided to back the BJP candidate for the presidency, causing speculation about his credentials in respect of opposing Hindutva. This matter comes up as he has a history of being with the BJP. He broke off from the saffron camp after sailing with them for many years until personal rivalry with Narendra Modi — on the issue of the latter’s projection as PM in 2014 — sundered him from the NDA.

The Bihar leader is indeed something of a maverick. In 2012, he was in the NDA but backed the Congress’ presidential candidate, Pranab Mukherjee. He appears to have a penchant for backing the party that is in power at the Centre.

Of course, Mr Kumar’s government is not in any existential danger due to his siding with the saffron camp at this time. Neither the RJD nor the Congress would be interested in losing a government, and that is what would happen if they seek to torpedo him.

But after the next general election, if the non-BJP parties have any chance of aspiring for the PM’s position, Mr Kumar may have ruled himself out due to his support to the BJP presidential candidate. He may be seen as a rank opportunist.

The BJP’s candidate will win hands down because his party is in power, not because he is a dalit. All non-BJP parties supporting him are doing so as they don’t wish to cross swords with the power-wielders, although they cite Mr Kovind’s dalit status as excuse for their choice. The next President is born a dalit, but his political ideology has been that of Hindutva, which has strong Vedic Hindu underpinnings.

All the same, Mr Kovind has good formal credentials for the job, while Ms Kumar’s credentials too are strong, by any yardstick.