Why Opposition Parties are United on Gopalkrishna Gandhi

After opposition parties appeared divided over the presidential candidate nomination, the parties unanimously chose former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi as the candidate for Vice-President on Tuesday, avoiding any delay in the decision this time.

The decision was also approved by JD (U), which is presently facing hitches as its alliance partner RJD is undergoing scrutiny for alleged corruption charges. Earlier, the JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar had endorsed NDAs presidential nominee Ramnath Kovind, a former Bihar governor who shared good relations with Kumar.

To avoid any disunity and delay, Gandhi’s proposal not only helps the opposition to strike a balance but has also brought forth a meaningful candidate, a former diplomat and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.

 “It would not be right for me to say no to 18 opposition parties representing the country in a show of unity and conviction. Both are very important in our country and very rare in our country," Gandhi said in an interview with NDTV.

Gandhi’s resume and personal accomplishments have helped the opposition parties to set aside rivalries and unanimously chose a candidate, who has been critical of the current political dispensation as much as he was of the previous one.

Gandhi, who was born a year before Indian independence, retired as an IAS officer and later served as 22nd governor of West Bengal between 2004 and 2009. Apart from being related to Mahtama Gandhi, his paternal grandfather, his maternal grandfather was C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), the last governor-general.         

The 72 year old also has literary work to his credit. He has also translated Vikram Seth’s A suitable boy in Hindi. Gandhi has made several critical comments on issues of beef-lynching and rise of intolerance in the country. Gandhi also took on the UPA government before when he described CBI as “Government’s hatchet, rather than honesty’s ally”.