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Presidential election in India July 13.

Caste obstacle to consensus candidate
NEW DELHI. June 15. Indian political par ties are fighting over whether caste or pure merit should Influence the choice of president, adding an Intriguing twist to the July 13 presidential vote, reports AFP
Just 10 days remain before the deadline for nominations, both the ruling Congress (I) party and the main opposition groups have still not named their candidates for head of state
All had seemed to be moving towards a smooth consensus in favour of Vice President Shankar Dayal Sharma to replace President Ramaswamy Venkataraman before the caste factor moved in 10 days ago to complicate matters.
The highly-educated and erudite Sharma, with degrees from Harvard and Cambridge universities and a spotless political career, seemingly has all the qualifications to be the next occupant of the presidential mansion.
But like Venkataraman he Is a Brahmin, a member of the highest caste in the rigid Hindu hierarchy, a factor hampering Prime Minister P V Naraslmha Rao's efforts to forge a consen sus that no longer looks possible.
Former Prime Minister Vlshwanath Pratap Singh Is Insisting Indias IOth president should be a member of the underprivileged backward castes, and Iras the backing of more than 100 centrist MPs.
And the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says it will field Its own candidate If Rao does not manage a consensus In favour of a common candidate
"We want a consensus but It looks difficult.' admitted a senior member of the Congress (I) dose to Rao.
"Caste cannot be the sole criterion in a presidential election." he said "All things be ing equal between two candidates, caste may act as a swing factor but not in this case
He said the 70-year-old prime minister would name a candidate — almost certainly still Sharma — after he returns from the Earth Summit in Brazil on Tuesday and before he leaves on a visit to Japan on Saturday
The president, who holds office for five years and whose post Is largely ceremonial, Is elected by an electoral college comprising fed • eral MPs and provincial lawmakers. Caste has played no rolls in nine past polls
VP Singh, whose caste oriented Job reservation policy in 1990 led to widespread protests and the suicide deaths of more than 50 high-caste students, says it to Umr ft does.
"If the Congress (1) docs not put up a suitable candidate, I will plead with my own party to do so, and If I don't succeed tn that. I shall quit parliament." he told a news conference June 5.
A backward caste president would signal "to the oppressed classes they are respected in this country," said VP Singh, referring to the rigid vididcs between high, middle, low and "outcaste” which pervade Indian society.
Senior members of VP Singh's party endorsed his stand her Friday with a resolution that said "oppressed and downtrodden sec Hons of the society* needed recognition, but named no candidate.
But not even the powerful communist party of India Marxist (CP! M) an ally, agrees wtth his stand, and It Is still taking a wait and see attitude
"Our stand is^that a nominee should be of high stature and have secular and democratic credentials, said a member of the CP1-M s
der ision making polltburo. adding that caste could not be a sole criterion.
Leaders of tower castes, which form an influential voting bloc, claim that though they form about 52 per cent of India s 860 million population, upper caste Hindus dominate poh tics, the bureaucracy. business and education.
Congress (I) sources said they hoped for a tradeoff offering a lower caste vice-presiden Hal candidate like former diplomat and minister K R Narayanan In return for consensus favouring Sharma as president
But JP Mathur, a senior leader of the BJP. the main opposition party, calls Rao's consen sus effort a trick' to ge t Ms party s candidates elected to both posts
"We do not want to abdicate our responsibfl tty as an opposition party Our duty is to oppose Ihe government,' he said
To maverick politician Swami Agntvesh. the whole argument is misguided.
A backward caste president will be at best a tool in the hands of a high-caste prime min Ister.' he said, adding that opposition parties would do better to win the next election and have their own Prime Minister instead