New candidate in the Presidential race

72-year-old Meira Kumar, a lawyer and a former diplomat has been nominated by the Congress President Sonia Gandhi as the Presidential candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections. The NDA government, which is in power, had nominated Ram Nath Kovind as its candidate.

Kumar was the first female Speaker of Lok Sabha and served in that position from 2009 to 2014.

She was chosen after a party meeting that included 17 opposition parties.

Meira Kumar

Meira Kumar is the daughter of former Deputy Prime Minister and prominent Dalit leader Jagjivan Ram and freedom fighter Indrani Devi. She is a lawyer and a former diplomat. She had in the 1985 Bijnore by-election, defeated both Mayawati and Ramvilas Paswan.

She served as Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment in then UPA -1 cabinet under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and as Minister for Water Resources in UPA-2 before becoming as Lok Sabha Speaker. Elected unopposed, Meira Kumar’s elevation as Speaker was emblematic in a way, reflecting the progress in India’s cultural mindset wherein where a woman from a Dalit community was able to break the glass ceiling. Kumar had succeeded Somnath Chatterjee.

Kumar, however, did come from a background of relative privilege. She is a law graduate who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1973, and served in Indian embassies in United Kingdom, Spain and Mauritius.

Analysis

Is the decision taken to challenge the BJP nominee, Ram Nath Kovind?

Nitish Kumar could be put in a spot because both his allies— the Congress and the RJD—are supporting Kumar who has her roots in Bihar.

But the JD leaders are determined to support only Ram Nath Kovind after taking everything into consideration. Political decisions are not changed in minutes and seconds.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, who had earlier welcomed Kovind’s candidature, is now shifting allegiance to Kumar. By supporting Kumar, the opposition has might have walked into the BJP’s trap of splitting Dalits between Chamars and non-Chamars in the Hindi heartland.

Assessment

Our assessment is that, that given both Meira Kumar and Ram Nath Kovind are prominent Dalit leaders either outcome to the Presidential elections that will take place on July 17 will signal progress in India. However, it is highly likely that the party in power will dictate the next President of India and it just might be Ram Nath Kovid. But for now, he has a worthy opponent to beat come July.