Indian politicians vote for president from Dalit caste
Indian legislators voted yesterday for a president from the bottom of the Hindu caste system.
In an election viewed as strengthening prime minister Narendra Modi’s grip on power, about 4,900 politicians nationwide voted in the election.
Ram Nath Kovind, the candidate from Mr Modi’s rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party, and a former lawyer and state governor from the Dalit caste, is certain to win.
His main rival is Meira Kumar, another Dalit, of the Congress-led opposition.
Bharatiya Janata, which won the general election in 2014 by a landslide, has for the first time assembled enough electoral college votes across the country to push through its candidate. Congress has traditionally dominated the post.
“This is not rocket science. Ram Nath Kovind will win today,” said Praful Patel, a leader of the small opposition Nationalist Congress Party, as he cast his vote.
Mr Modi was among the first to vote, using a especially approved violet ink pen. The election commission barred the use of personal pens to ensure clean voting.
The result will be announced on Thursday.
“The presidential poll this time is historic,” Mr Modi tweeted on the eve of the poll.
“Probably for the first time no party has made any undignified or unwarranted comment on the rival candidate.
“Every political party has kept in mind the dignity of this election.”
India’s prime minister wields executive power, but the president can send back parliamentary bills for reconsideration and plays a guiding role in forming governments.
Analysts said the election of Mr Kovind, 71, would help Mr Modi tighten his grip on power and accrue political capital by sending an important message to the Dalits, a long-disdained electoral group once known as “the untouchables”.
The 200 million Dalits in the country of 1.3 billion people are among India’s poorest communities and are relegated to the margins of society.
Despite legal protection, discrimination is rife and Dalits are routinely denied access to education and other advancement.
Yesterday media reported the case of a Dalit labourer beaten to death by upper-caste attackers, highlighting the plight of the group.
Mr Modi’s rivals have protested against Mr Kovind’s nomination, criticising his association with the radical right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological power behind Bharatiya Janata.
Ms Kumar, daughter of freedom fighter Babu Jagjivan Ram, was a diplomat before entering politics in 1985 and became India’s first woman speaker in 2009.
Her nomination was seen by many as an opposition attempt to counter Mr Modi’s move to woo Dalits.
The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, called the contest a “clash of ideas and a conflict of disparate values”.
“We cannot and must not let India be hostage to those who wish to impose upon it a narrow-minded, divisive and communal vision,” Ms Gandhi said.
Votes from Bharatiya Janata’s traditional Hindu base pushed Mr Modi to his 2014 victory.
Dalit support will be key for the party before the 2019 general election as the party has been largely shunned by Muslims, who make up about 14 per cent of the population.
“The Dalit community has bases across the country, especially in all the big, electorally significant states,” said Nistula Hebbar, the political editor of The Hindu newspaper.
“The community’s vote is important for all, especially for the BJP. In a democracy, their numbers matter a lot.”
The Dalit community has bases across the country, especially in all the big, electorally significant states