Shopping for the next President of India: Decoding this tough decision

It is unlikely that President Pranab Mukherjee will find himself elected for a second term

The 2017 presidential election time-table will kick in over the next two weeks, but the political bosses and managers have already begun their manoeuvres and exertions to find a replacement for Pranab Mukherjee. No one should be surprised to be told that like all his predecessors since Rajendra Prasad, President Mukherjee, too, hopes for a second term. He will not get it. He has not endeared himself sufficiently to the ruling establishment for it to oblige him with five more years in the spacious Rashtrapati Bhavan. And, within the opposition, he commands only mixed respect. Above all, he is no