“Pranab Too Intelligent. Try Me.”
Former Lok Sabha speaker P. A. Sangma bids for presidency on tribal card
Self- proclaimed presidential candidate Purno Agitok Sangma, 64, thinks the country’s top job is a waste of time as it involves nothing but signing papers. It is not worthy, according to him, of Pranab Mukherjee’s calibre. But it suits him, because of its symbolic importance. “Tribals need representation at the highest level,” he says. It is echoed by his daughter and Union Minister of State for Rural Development Agatha Sangma. “There is a sense of alienation among tribals and a tribal president will do wonders to the process of nation- building,” she told INDIA TODAY. The father- daughter duo knows it will be politically incorrect for anyone to oppose this Christian leader from the Garo tribe.
Sangma is making every effort to curry support from friends. On May 15, he met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. On May 17, the AIADMK supremo and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced their support for Sangma. But his own party, NCP, is not keen on him. “NCP doesn’t have the numbers to field a candidate of its own. We will go by what UPA decides,” party chief Sharad Pawar said.
The possibility of UPA support ended on May 22 when Congress President Sonia Gandhi refused to meet him. She has clearly not forgotten that Sangma raised the issue of her foreign origin 13 years ago. Even West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is in no mood to forgive Sangma who dumped her after joining her party briefly in 2004. Mamata wants either Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar or former Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi as the next president.
Sangma knows he has no chance without the support of BJP. He is now banking on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s growing proximity to Jayalalithaa. He met two other BJP stalwarts, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, on May 17. The former Lok Sabha speaker is also trying to build a Left- Right alliance. He met CPI( M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and CPI leader D. Raja on May 22. He also spoke to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, JD( U) leader Sharad Yadav and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. “I will not let Jayalalithaa and Naveen Patnaik down. If necessary, I will con- test as an independent,” Sangma said.
The eight- time MP from Tura, Meghalaya, was part of Union governments led by Rajiv Gandhi and P. V. Narasimha Rao. The highest point in his career was when he became the Lok Sabha speaker in 1996. Thanks to the novelty of live telecast of Lok Sabha proceedings, Sangma’s headmasterstyle disciplining of parliamentarians made him a household name. The journey to oblivion started almost immediately, when he raised the issue of Sonia’s foreign origin in 1999.
Ambition is not a new word for Sangma. “In Garo Hills, I’m the moon that won’t be eclipsed,” he once said. A stint in Rashtrapati Bhavan will ensure just that for the lecturer- turned- lawyerturned politician.