Kovind must speak for the deprived
Every party would think twice before opposing him, since they don’t want to be called antiDalit
At Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, we were waiting for the governor to arrive at the book fair’s cavernous pandal. He arrived two minutes before time. As soon as the door of the car opened, I welcomed him with my introduction. Shaking my hand with warmth, he said: “You don’t need any introduction.”
Generally, modern-day politicians say this to mock the people they meet. Arrogance has become the signature of most Indian politicians these days. He appeared the opposite to these traits: matured, polite and graceful. On the dais, I discovered that the governor had already read my book. The portions that he had underlined to quote were the ones that I had also selected for my speech. Does he think on the same lines as me? The question sprang to my mind.
In my speech, I invoked Nigerian Nobel laureate Chinua Achebe. Achebe has written: “Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” After the speech, he whispered in my ear: Your views are extremely convincing in the Indian context! His speech was succinct and rich with content. Before he bid goodbye, his polite nature, intellectual depth, social commitment and graceful retorts had left an imprint on everybody.
By now you would have understood that I am speaking about Ram Nath Kovind. His educational background, his views and his personality make him suitable for the President’s post. His candidature did take many with surprise, because he always done his work keeping a low profile. But this is Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s style. The duo has made a smart political move. Let us begin with the politics behind it. Kovind was born in a Dalit household. Every political party would have to think twice before opposing him since they don’t want to earn the stamp of being anti-Dalit. The opposition had faced a similar dilemma when the Congress put forward KR Narayanan’s name. The record of his victory is still intact. The compulsions of a similar brand of politics compelled the Opposition to nominate Meira Kumar as their candidate. Kumar is the daughter of renowned Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram and has held a number of high posts including speaker of the Lok Sabha. For the first time, two extremely qualified Dalit candidates are pitted against each other for the President’s post. The Congress hopes that by fielding Kumar, it will be able to keep some of its remaining Dalit support base intact.
The BJP’s leadership realises it will never get the Muslim votes. So, they want to draw away the Dalits from the Congress. Even before Kovind’s candidature, the Bhim app, the razzmatazz around the Ambedkar anniversary and Amit Shah having lunch with a Dalit family were indicators of this. Kovind hails from the Koli community. Being a native of Uttar Pradesh, not only will he influence voters in the state, the BJP will also gain in Bihar, his karmabhoomi. The support of the Janata Dal (United) is a sign of this.
Apart from the entire NDA, the JD (U) and a faction of the AIADMK have come out in Kovind’s support. These elections could prove to be a trial by fire for the Opposition because people are seeing it as a rehearsal for 2019. The assessment till now makes it clear that Kovind’s victory is a certainty and the Opposition is only in the fray since it doesn’t want to give the NDA a walkover.
Kovind’s critics may say that he has never won an election despite getting the opportunity twice. The buzz is he didn’t get a Lok Sabha ticket in 2014 because of this. The jealous may allege he has always preferred the backdoor to assume office. Without getting into an argument, I would politely like to remember Abraham Lincoln here. He, too, lost many elections, went bankrupt and even suffered from gangrene, but he won the election for an office considered to be the most powerful in the world. As the president of the United States, he abolished the system of slavery. While it is true that the Indian President has his constraints, but after reaching the office of the President Ram Nath Kovind can do a lot of things that are required.
Even today the nation doesn’t want to hear the voices of the Dalits and the dispossessed. A person who has risen from among them will have to take this initiative. Will he keep Achebe’s saying in mind? History is looking at Ram Nath Kovind with anticipation.