President Pranab Mukherjee’s term in office comes to an end in July 2017, and election of the next president of the country will be held early that month in all probability. The name of L.K. Advani, 89, has often been mentioned as a likely candidate for the post, and the BJP would like to see a champion of its ideology in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. But, of late, there have been reports that Advani may not be considered, in view of his age and his criticism of the powers that be. However, there is an outside chance of the veteran politician throwing his hat in the ring nonetheless, which would leave Narendra Modi and his team embarrassed. In 2013, while the BJP was finalising Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, Advani had openly opposed it.
The BJP’s allies in the NDA say they have no problems about Advani being projected as the next president. Said Manohar Joshi, former Lok Sabha speaker and Shiv Sena leader, to THE WEEK, “Advani is a great leader. I know him well. But first there has to be a consensus in the NDA on the candidate for the post of the president. As far as I know, it is only at the eleventh hour that a candidate’s name is put forward.”
Said Thota Narasimham, Telugu Desam Party MP, to THE WEEK, “We don’t have any problems in Advani being declared as the next president. But there has to be a general agreement on it. Our party president [Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu] would take a call on it soon.”
Advani, it is said, was assured by senior BJP leaders in 2014 that he would be appointed as the next president. But most party leaders are now wary of supporting his candidature in the Modi-dominated era of the BJP. It is also said that the top leadership in the BJP fears that Advani on his own might reach out to other political parties, if the BJP does not nominate him.
RSS ideologue K.N. Govindacharya told THE WEEK that it was not the time to discuss candidates. “I have not thought about it yet,” he said
Many leaders in the BJP who are close to Advani sympathise with him. O. Rajagopal, BJP MLA in Kerala and a senior leader, is one among them. “I will be very happy if Advani becomes president. But at this juncture, before the party makes its decision, I will not be able to say anything more,” said Rajagopal to THE WEEK.
