On April 21, NDTV carried the results of polls they had run on who should be president after Kalam. Of 200,000 people polled in urban India, nearly 50% wanted Narayana Murthy as Prez. Next was Amartya Sen. The politicians ranked pretty low in their preferences.
NDTV also polled 520 members of the electoral college that will elect the next president. Somnath Chatterjee and Bhairon Singh Shekawat topped the lists, each getting more than a quarter of the vote. Narayana Murthy got a mere 5% of the vote. Incidentally, some 57% said they would like to have Kalam continue for a second term.
What do the results tell us? The urban middle class wants a non-politician like Narayana Murthy to be Prez. The politicians think otherwise. So the chances of Murthy or any other non-politician getting the job are low.
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2 comments:
Dear Prof Ram Mohan,
Mr. Murthy has far-right views about the wisdom of the Market and the private sector as opposed to that of the government. He is likely to be an activist, unbridled and arrogant president.
Luckily, as you point out, the wisdom of the peoples' representatives will prevail over the wisdom of the Indian middle class.
Very strong statements! I read in Outlook magazine that Murthy has mooted the idea of reviving the Swatantra party, so he has made no bones about his ideological position.
You're right, the political class is unlikely to carry out the bidding of the middle class.
-TTR
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