Suresh Prabhu and 6 more: A look at probable candidates for the post of India’s President

The clock is ticking fast. The deadline to elect India’s next President is July 24 and the principal power, as well as the opposition party, are yet to make any moves as to who will be the next candidate for the plum position. After all, Ram Nath Kovind, the current President turned 76 last year and given the BJP’s rule of not promoting anyone above 70, it looks highly unlikely that he will be given a second crack at the position. Thus, we have tried to compile a list of some of the names that could potentially find themselves in Rashtrapati Bhavan, come the end of summer.

Suresh Prabhu

The first name on the next President list is taken by Suresh Prabhu who led the railway ministry for three years and the commerce ministry for two years till 2019, after which he also became the civil aviation minister. Although Prabhu could not get an extended rope in Modi 2.0, he is still regarded as one of the few ministers to have always followed the party line first and his political ambitions second.

As a result, he was also appointed as PM Modi’s Sherpa for the G20 summit in 2021, later replaced by Piyush Goyal. In recent months, he has taken a back seat in his political duties but with his Rajya Sabha tenure set to end this year, we may see him being projected as a potential presidential candidate. He is the ideal leader to take the position while BJP covers its other bases for the 2024 General elections.

M Venkaiah Naidu

Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu — the current Vice President of the country has a strong RSS background and has a tough headmaster image. He is well known for his outspoken nature and ability to deal with complex situations. As the vice president, he hasn’t shied away from questioning the judiciary of the country regarding judicial reforms and has led some of the most productive sessions in Rajya Sabha’s history, even through turbulent protests.

As reported by TFI, last year, in the wake of the cracker ban by the apex court, Naidu in a nuanced manner had talked about judicial reforms. He said, “Occasionally, concerns have been raised to whether they are entering the domains of the legislative and executive wings. There have been debates whether some issues should have been more legitimately left to the other organs of the government.”

The VP added, “For example, Diwali fireworks, steps on registration and movement of vehicles from the National Capital Region through Delhi, banning the use of vehicles of certain make after 10 or 15 years, monitoring police investigations, denying the executive any role in the appointment of judges by instituting the collegium, which is said to be an extra-constitutional body,”

Safe to say, Naidu can be an asset for BJP in power as the opposition will have a tough time placing a leader that can rival Naidu’s resume. Naidu has been a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee as well as the Narendra Modi government.

In 2017, he had defeated the combined opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi by a huge margin of 272 votes in a straight contest to become the 13th VP of the country, replacing toxic Hamid Ansari.

Naidu has the experience and credentials to be the next President. However, he has marginally crossed the 70-year threshold and could miss out on the race narrowly if BJP implements its system rigidly.

Arif Mohammad Khan

Current Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan could be the perfect minority face to grace the top post. He has been one of the few sane voices that has kept the reformation of Islam as his core tenet while leading an active political life. From being a Civil Aviation minister in the VP Singh government to setting the left government of Kerala straight, Arif Md. Khan has the desirable qualification to pip out his rivals.

Unlike previous VP Hamid Ansari, who turned out to be a closeted Islamist having a narrow worldview, Arif Md. Khan has openly praised the Modi government for banning Triple Talaq. He has also called the Hijab controversy unnecessary by claiming that Hijab is not a compulsory part of Islam.

Khan is the perfect antidote to leaders like Asaduddin Owaisi. He showed his secular credentials in April last year when he visited Sabarimala while also carrying ‘irumudikettu’ to the temple. Despite being targeted by radical Islamists for his visit on social media platforms, Khan remained steadfast in his beliefs.

Read More: Arif Mohammed Khan did a darshan of Lord Ayappa and now radical Islamists are after his life

Gopal Narayan Singh

Born in Jamuhar village of Rohtas district in Bihar, Gopal Narayan Singh has been a monolith in the politics of Bihar. As a Janta Party leader, he first stepped into the Bihar Vidhan Sabha from the Nokha seat by winning the assembly election, way back in 1977. Later, in 2003, he was elected as the Bihar BJP unit president replacing two-term state party chief Nand Kishore Yadav. He held the position for two years and was only succeeded by former Deputy CM of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi.

Gopal Narayan Singh was elected as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha in 2016 and his tenure expired last month. Choosing him can be the safe option for BJP as was the trend earlier when selecting a presidential candidate. He comes from Bihar and has considerable sway over the voters of the region — having started a university in his home district as well.

Draupadi Murmu

The only two prominent groups not to be represented in the president’s office are OBCs and tribals. In 2017, the name of BJP’s tribal leader Draupadi Murmu had made the rounds. However, BJP went ahead with Ram Nath Kovind – a member of the SC community. By naming Murmu as the presidential candidate, BJP may be able to kill two birds with one stone.

Murmu can be a strong female candidate and her tribal background can propel BJP to seal her nomination. Murmu was a minister in the Odisha government two decades ago and comes from the state’s tribal district of Mayurbhanj.

Tribal communities constitute about 9 per cent of the country’s population and PM Modi has been making concentrated efforts to improve their lives by bringing in policies to incentivise natural farming and agroforestry, along with other policies for their social integration.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah was recently in Madhya Pradesh wooing the tribal families by distributing bonuses to the Tendu leaves collectors. If NDA wants to storm back to power in 2024, it needs to seal the vote bank of this particular demography. Thus, pushing Draupadi Murmu as the presidential candidate just might do the trick.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

One of the most popular minority faces of the BJP, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi can also stake his claim as the next President of the country. As the incumbent Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Naqvi has been holding the fort since 2016, despite multiple cabinet reshuffles announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is rare for a party leader to get such a long rope under PM Modi’s cabinet but Naqvi’s work ethic has been exemplary.

Naqvi was born and brought up in Prayagraj. He was an active participant in the “Sampoorna Karanti” (Total Revolution) movement launched by Loknayak Jaiprakash Narayan during the Emergency and was jailed under “MISA-DIR” at the age of just 17.

He has served as Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs in 1998 in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Government. During his tenure, he took major decisions and initiated reforms like Direct to Home broadcast system (DTH) and the conferment of industry status to the Indian film industry.

Safe to say, Naqvi is one of BJP’s most progressive, secular, democratic and grassroots leaders going across the circuit. His elevation will only help BJP pass across the message that it is not an anti-Muslim party.

Read More: Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi says most of the mob lynching cases are fabricated and fake

Thawarchand Gehlot

Last but not the least, the current governor of Karnataka, Thawarchand Gehlot can be the dark horse in the Presidential race. Having served as the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment from 2014 to 2021, Thawarchand was also the Leader of the House in the upper house, up until last year, superseding the late Arun Jaitley.

Moreover, Thawarchand was a member of the Parliamentary Board and the Central Election Committee of the BJP which has engineered numerous electoral victories for the saffron party in the past eight years.

Thawarchand may not be making a lot of waves in the news media circles, owing to his low profile but behind the scenes, he has been one of the most influential leaders of the BJP. Thawarchand has been an influential Dalit face for BJP and his elevation to the Presidential candidate post may augur well for the party.

Going through the list, one can be ascertained that BJP is spoilt for riches. It has the headache of choosing the best possible candidate from an already stacked field. However, to keep the best interests of the party in mind, it can be argued that BJP is late in announcing the candidate. It should get down to brass tacks and announce the candidate in the next few weeks which gives it enough time to conjure the numbers.