55 of Congress vs. 14 years of BJP: BJP projects Muslims, Dalits, and Adivasis for the President; Congress confined to upper class

So far, 15 elections have been held for the post of President in the country, in which 14 people have been selected for the post of President. These include six Brahmins, three Muslims, two Dalits, one Kayastha, one woman, and one person from the Sikh community. Since independence, Dr. Rajendra Prasad has been the only President who got the opportunity to stay in this position for two consecutive terms i.e. ten years.

Interestingly, out of the 14 Presidents who were elected, 7 were from South India. These include Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, R Venkataraman, and APJ Abdul Kalam from Tamil Nadu, Zakir Hussain and Neelam Sanjeev Reddy from Andhra Pradesh, KR Narayanan from Kerala, and VV Giri from Odisha, while 7 Presidents have been elected from the rest of India.

These include Dr. Rajendra Prasad from Bihar, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed from Delhi, Giani Zail Singh from Punjab, and Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma from Madhya Pradesh, Pratibha Patil from Rajasthan-Maharashtra, Pranab Mukherjee from West Bengal and Ram Nath Kovind from Uttar Pradesh. Zakir Hussain and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed died while in office, leading to three people being made acting presidents.

This will be the first time that a woman coming from a tribal society is more likely to be elected president. It is also interesting in this that the BJP, which is said to be a party of the upper castes, in its three terms of 14 years, has projected Muslim, Dalit, and Adivasi women for the presidency.

At the same time, not a single Adivasi or Dalit could become the President during the rule of about 55 years of the Congress, which talked about the upliftment of Dalit-Adivasi and Backward. The Congress was confined to upper classes like Brahmins, Sikhs, Women, and Kayasthas.

6 Brahmins and 2 Muslims became President under Congress rule

As long as the Congress government was at the center, 6 Brahmins, 2 Muslims, and 1-1 Kayastha, Sikh, and Rajput women were elected for the post of President.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Zakir Hussain, VV Giri, and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed became the President during the first three decades of Congress rule from independence till March 24, 1977. Kayasthas, Brahmins, and Muslims were included in this.

In the second term, from January 14, 1980, to December 2, 1989, the Congress government was at the center. Then Giani Zail Singh and R Venkataraman were made the President. Giani Zail Singh was a Sikh and R Venkataraman was a Tamil Brahmin. Congress returned to power again on June 21, 1991, after which Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma was made the President.

After 16 May 1996, Congress remained out of power for almost 8 years. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) returned to power on 22 May 2004. Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee were made the President during this period. Pratibha Patil belongs to the Rajput community, while Pranab Mukherjee was a Bengali Brahmin.

2 Presidents made in Janata Party / United Front government

Many times the government of the Janata Party, Janata Dal, and United Front was also formed in the country, but no government could complete the term of 5 years.

The first non-Congress government was formed on 14 March 1977 under the leadership of Morarji Desai. This government fell within 28 months, but before that in July 1977, Presidential elections were held and Neelam Sanjiv Reddy was elected.

In 1989, the Janata Dal under the leadership of VP Singh, and in 1990 the Samajwadi Janata Party government under the leadership of Chandrashekhar was formed, but during this time no election was held for the post of President. Between June 1, 1996, and March 19, 1998, there was a United Front government. The United Front government had outside support from Congress. It was during this period that KR Narayanan was made the President. Narayanan was the first Dalit President of the country. However, he was made the Vice President in 1992 during the Congress rule itself.

BJP did a project for Muslim, Dalit, and Adivasi women

The BJP got a chance to rule thrice at the Centre, but the party did not field any upper caste person as its candidate for the post of President. The NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 projected Muslim scientist APJ Abdul Kalam for the presidency. He became the 11th President of the country.

BJP returned to power in 2014. The presidential election was held in 2017. In the first term of the Modi government, the BJP projected the Governor of Bihar and Ram Nath Kovind, who came from the Dalit community, as the President. President Kovind will hold this post till July 24, 2022. BJP came to power for the third time in 2019.

This time BJP has projected Draupadi Murmu, coming from tribal society, in front of whom Congress and opposition together came out of BJP and made Trinamool Congress leader Yashwant Sinha as their candidate.

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