Take your time, NDA

After all, the BJP-led grouping has been beside the point in the presidential contest so far

It is no surprise that the NDA has deferred its decision on its candidate for president. After the UPA finally made up its mind to back Pranab Mukherjee to the hilt, and given NDA ally JD(U)'s apparent reluctance to challenge him, the BJP could have a difficult time choosing an alternative. And yet, this appearance of confusion is no harbinger of political anxieties. Quite simply, in the presidential contest so far, the NDA's choice doesn't seem terribly consequential.

This race for Rashtrapati Bhavan is clearly about something else and the lead players haven't yet included the BJP-led NDA. It is a foreshadowing of the 2014 Lok Sabha election, and alignments and rifts are a sign of the political partnerships to come. Seen from that perspective, this contest has clearly been about the Congress's clout vis-à-vis that of aggressive regional forces. The NDA, for all its bluster, has only watched from the sidelines. The contest became pointed after the BJD and AIADMK joined forces to pitch for P.A. Sangma, raising the possibility of a federal front in future. Then, it was a question of whether the Congress could persuade its ally, the TMC, to work with it, and whether it could enlist outside support in case that failed. Now that it is assured of the SP's weighty backing for Mukherjee, the Congress appears to be in a comfortable position. However, both in those days of tense brinkmanship, and now when it looks virtually decided, the initiative belonged elsewhere, not with the NDA.

Vigorous political competition for the office of the first citizen is a good thing — it holds enormous responsibilities and it is a sign of healthy politics that parties are arguing with each other, extending themselves to canvass for their own preferences, rather than marching in lockstep to anoint a consensus candidate. Many in the BJP rightly want a face-off, they do not want Mukherjee to sail through unchallenged. They want to preserve the appearance of a strong and wide coalition against the UPA, one that can provide the glue for a host of regional forces. And yet, they must know that in this battle, for now, they have been outmanoeuvred. The ongoing and protracted NDA brainstorming over the presidential candidate seems to be more a search for a dignified way to lose, not one for a winning candidate.

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