Fly On the Wall July 14
Who were 20 Presidential candidates!
On June 21, BJP president JP Nadda told the nation that the party has chosen Draupadi Murmu as its Presidential candidate. He went on to disclose that the party considered 20 names for the post and she was chosen amongst them. However, he left the country guessing about the remaining 19 names considered at the Parliamentary Board's meeting. It transpires that the top BJP leadership considered 19 other names which included Parkash Singh Badal, former Punjab Chief Minister and a tall Sikh leader. PM Modi once called him Nelson Mandela of India. It so happened that the Akali Dal leaders reached out to the BJP reminding it that it had been indicated in 2014 that Badal senior could be considered for the top post. When asked who had given them such a commitment, they named a late senior leader who is no more. The matter ended there.The name of a former Chief Justice of India was also considered who may have been signaled once that he could be considered for a Constitutional post. Telangana Governor Tamilsai Sundarajan and three other tribal women leaders were also considered. Former Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao who hails from Telangana too figured among those considered. The names of many Governors including that of Thaawarchand Gehlot and Kalraj Mishra were also mentioned considering their wide experience.
