They are going to count it today, eight or nine-odd lakh votes, and give us our next president. The question not bothering the TV channel panels is: Does the president represent only elected MPs and MLAs? Or is she (if projections about Pratibha-tai is to be taken on face value) President of the Republic of India?
Then why the people (note: I checked with Barkha Dutt about copyright for the phrase) have no role to play in electing her? Just because a coterie of Left/Congress/other netas thought tai is the best face for the Republic?
Without getting into positives, negatives and split infinitives of presidential elections, Subject here has a better suggestion: Make the office a yearly musical chair. Tai can stay for a year, and then make way for Sheila Dikshit, Mamata Banerjee, Jayalalithaa, and Jaya Bachchan.
Here's why:
1.We would be too bored with tai's inane/stupid/irritating/slanderous/libelous nonsenses in a year flat.
2. If we have a vice-president from the “minority community” there would be little need for tai, who got the nod, to believe Prakash Karat and comrades, primarily for her “secular credentials”.
3.There would be little novelty value attached to, or with, her pallu after a while.
SHEILA DIKSHIT
There's no possible way – either this-wordly or that-worldly – she can draw an ace and be the Delhi CM again. If not BJP, Congress's own Ram Babu Guptas, Jagdish Tytlers, Sajjan Kumars and Ajay Makens would trump her anyway.
* Delhiites, too, would get relief from Sheila brand of politics. As for the media, no need to write headlines on successive days: “Bluelines would be phased out”; “Bluelines are definitely going to be phased out”; “Bluelines have to go”. C'mon auntie, rephrasing till only a certain point can be labelled political chicanery. beyond that, there's a word for its: 24-carat nonsense. So shut up, and bore us with better ones: presidential speeches.
MAMATA BANERJEE
Ratan Tata apart, the comrades would give their vote for her. And given the complexity of UPA politics she would be, as The Telegraph ad slogan goes in Calcutta, “unputdownable”.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan would liven up after Pratibha tai and Sheila auntie. Antics, after all, have their own value in the boredom of politics (for the uninitiated: check with Kalam's hair stylist).
JAYALALITHAA
Everything will come closer home. Any debates over, say, Indo-US nuclear deals, Mission Mars, friendly ties with Papua New Guinea and Peru, and you can be sure who to blame: Karunanidhi. Ab Chennai dur nehin (now say that in Tamil.)
On second thoughts, she may re-christen Rashtrapati Bhavan the MGR Estate, which may not augur well for successors. In that case, I withdraw her from my list. Anyone else interested?
JAYA BACHCHAN
“Amit-ji” will be seen accompanying Mrs on foreign trips. What this means is simple: less Amitabh films (now say ya-hoo in a baritone).
And, I rest my case. Hello tai!
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