The nation is going for a Presidential election with all the surprises which politics can throw up. There has been lot of political activity in selection of possible candidates by different political parties.
With support declared (as per media) by various political entities, election of Mr Ram Nath Kovind appears to be a foregone conclusion. Considerable time, energy and resources will probably be going into the process of presidential election.
Out of the thirteen elected Presidents India has had so far (see table below), Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (1977-82) was the only unopposed President and Rajendra Prasad was the only President to have two consecutive terms.
|
Sl |
Name |
Dt of taking Office |
Dt of leaving Office |
Remarks |
|
1 |
Rajendra Prasad |
26.01.1950 |
12.05.1962 |
Only President who
served two terms |
|
2 |
S Radhakrishnan |
13.05.1962 |
13.05.1967 |
|
|
3 |
Zakir Hussain |
13.05.1967 |
03.05.1969 |
Died in Office |
|
|
V V Giri |
03.05.1969 |
20.07.1969 |
Acting President |
|
|
Mohammad Hidayatullah |
20.07.1969 |
24.08.1969 |
CJI as Acting President |
|
4 |
V V Giri |
24.08.1969 |
24.08.1974 |
|
|
5 |
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed |
24.08.1974 |
11.02.1977 |
Proclaimed Emergency,
Died in Office |
|
|
B D Jatti |
11.02.1977 |
25.07.1977 |
Acting President |
|
6 |
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy |
25.07.1977 |
25.07.1982 |
Won unopposed. |
|
7 |
Giani Zail Singh |
25.07.1982 |
25.07.1987 |
|
|
8 |
R Venkataraman |
25.07.1987 |
25.07.1992 |
|
|
9 |
Shankar Dayal Sharma |
25.07.1992 |
25.07.1997 |
|
|
10 |
K R Narayanan |
25.07.1997 |
25.07.2002 |
|
|
11 |
A P J Abdul Kalam |
25.07.2002 |
25.07.2007 |
|
|
12 |
Pratibha Patil |
25.07.2007 |
25.07.2012 |
|
|
13 |
Pranab Mukherjee |
25.07.2012 |
Continues |
|
Wish list that comes to mind-
1. Our President should be free to act as per conscience and not be bound by the advice of the government. One shudders when reminded of the way President Mr Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was made to sign the proclamation of Emergency.
2. Presidents should not allow Ordinances to be easy route for enacting laws. This route should be used in exceptional cases as it undermines Parliament.
3. Selection of Presidential candidates should be beyond considerations of religion, caste or gender.
4. Proven administrative skills, legal understanding , fairness in dealing and courageous to stand up for what is good for the nation are the qualities which should be in a potential candidate. For example one elected just because of being a famous scientist may not be able to do justice to this office as often they are required to deal with rogue elements.
Choosing a President is a serious matter and our leaders should put up credible candidates for electing the fourteenth President.
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