Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat has dismissed speculation that he could run for President in elections to be held later this year, saying he considers such talk “entertainment”. The other names doing rounds are Speaker Sumitra Mahajan , Senior leader Murali Manohar Joshi, and LK Advani.
“My name will not be proposed and if it is I will not accept,” Mr Bhagwat said on Wednesday morning while addressing a gathering in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, where the RSS, the ruling BJP’s ideological mentor, is headquartered.
The BJP’s prickly ally in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena had earlier this week said that Mr Bhagwat as India’s next President was a good idea. “Somebody with a clean image should occupy it. We have heard that Mohan Bhagwat’s name is being discussed for President. If India has to be made a Hindu Rashtra, Bhagwat will be a good choice for President,” said the Sena’s Sanjay Raut.
Main opposition party the Congress immediately made it clear that it would block any move to make Mr Bhagwat President. “It is very clear that we do not support RSS ideology,” Congress spokesperson Gaurav Gogoi said.
The Congress has said it will hold discussions internally to name a candidate for Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mr Gogoi did not comment when asked whether the Congress could work on a consensus with the government to pick the next President without a contest.
President Pranab Mukherjee’s five-year term ends on July 24 this year.
