Why did Janata Dal (United) take a separate decision in support of the UPA nominee, Pranab Mukherjee, for President? Why did it not go with the BJP, its NDA partner?
The NDA was in the midst of a serious discussion on fielding Kalam sahib, but we received information that J. Jayalalithaa would not reconsider her view to back P.A. Sangma. There were two views within the NDA. We maintained that there should be no contest for the constitutional post. As the number of political parties is on the rise, we do not know what political situation would emerge after the 2014 Lok Sabha election, although we hope that there will be political stability. But it is evident that the regional parties are getting stronger.

We felt that if the ruling Congress Party had consulted at least the main Opposition, the BJP, on the President’s poll, we would have preferred a unanimous election. The Congress could have delayed announcing its candidate by even half an hour and spoken to senior BJP leaders. This would have avoided the situation where the BJP is compelled to support Mr Sangma.

Why did broader consultations not take place on the President’s election?
Political management within the UPA-2 is poor. They took fright after the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamul Congress jointly suggested three names of their own for the post of President. In a hurried manner, the UPA then announced the name of its own candidate. This was explained to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he called senior BJP leader L.K. Advani.

You have said that the functioning of the UPA-2 has harmed national interests. To what extent is Mr Mukherjee responsible for this state of affairs?
It is the Prime Minister who has all the powers. Mr Mukherjee is just a minister. The blame lies with the Prime Minister, not Mr Mukherjee.

You are the JD(U) president and the convenor of the NDA. But you have failed to keep the Opposition alliance united on the important issue of candidate for President.
Supporting a candidate for President is decided by different political parties depending on their political compulsions, and this should not be seen as a reflection of differences within the alliance. I accept that there was indeed a broad agreement among the NDA constituents to have the freedom to disagree on the choice of candidates in the context of the Rashtrapati’s election.

Don’t you think it was premature on the part of the JD(U) to rake up the issue of NDA’s candidate for Prime Minister for the 2014 polls? By opposing Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi (at this stage), is your party not risking a break-up with your oldest ally?
This country is full of contradictions, and such issues keep cropping up. But I am sure everything will be resolved in the end and the NDA will emerge stronger. However, this is not an issue for public debate. I will speak on the matter internally, both in my party forum and at the NDA platform.

I must tell you that our alliance is based on some agreed principles: to keep on the backburner BJP’s three core issues — Article 370, Common Civil Code and Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. On our part, we (JD-U) have kept in abeyance our demand for inclusion of dalit Muslims and Christians under the purview of reservation.

How can you say that the NDA will emerge stronger when Mr Mukherjee’s candidature has split the alliance so wide that two of its key constituents — JD(U) and Shiv Sena — are voting against the wishes of the BJP, which may be called the pivot of the alliance?
Supporting Mr Mukherjee does not mean that we are breaking the alliance. We will fight the 2014 Lok Sabha election together. Indeed, in that process the NDA may win over to its side regional parties like the AIADMK, the Biju Janata Dal or for that matter even Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress.

How do you assess the final position with regard to the President’s election, now that Mr Sangma has formally entered the fray and the main parties have stated their preferences?
Because of the support given by the BJP to Mr Sangma, it seems that andhe ke haath me bater lag gaee (a blind man has landed a quail) — a case of lucky break. Mr Sangma has entered the fray only for the sake of publicity.

Do you think that JD(U)’s support to the UPA’s nominee for President has diluted the anti-Congress political space?
Certainly not. We will be more aggressive against the Congress in the coming days. The position of the President is constitutional. It has nothing to do with the Congress. People are aware of the political contradictions we are faced with and they will appreciate our stand.

Will Mr Mukherjee’s exit from the Manmohan Singh government on becoming President make things difficult for the ruling alliance?
It will impact the government deeply. After Mr Mukherjee leaves, there is no one in the government side who has the capacity to maintain a balance in Parliament. He was the only one in the UPA to understand the contradictions in a country like India. The days ahead are going to be tough for the UPA.