Is it “Bye, Kalam”?

All right, folks. Here is a lesson for all of us. When Kalam said he would agree to be Prez again if there was no contest over it, we took it to mean he was above petty politicking. We took it to mean that he would be willing to extend his energies and time to doing something he did so well. As Karishma put it, he would give direction to the country – direction that would stay above politics of any kind. But that’s not the way politicians saw it. Here’s what one of them said:
“The match is over for Kalam…we do not expect the game to be started again. We are very clear about that,” Pawar said. “I know him. We have worked together and he will not be there (in the fray),” said Pawar, under whom Kalam served as Scientific Adviser when the former was defence minister. Describing Kalam as an ‘honest person to the core’, Pawar said, however, it was a ‘pity’ that a person occupying the highest post had suddenly started talking of a contest after having declared he was not interested in anything. The NCP leader took a dig at Kalam for saying that he would contest if he was sure of victory. “In a democracy, anyone interested in public life can contest Lok Sabha elections from whichever constituency one likes. But one cannot say that he will contest only if he wins,” he said. And the Left said that e-mails did not constitute popular opinion. ???
So you are an e-mailer? Digest this. Your opinion is not worth a 5-paisa coin.
What Pawar neglected to explain was why people who lost direct elections were inducted into the union cabinet through the backdoor.
Anyway, stung by these words, Kalam has decided to withdraw from the contest. He has made a statement to that effect. Kalam said he did not want to drag the office of the Prez of India into controversy. All the efforts of the UNPA have been thwarted as of now. So I guess, it’s good bye APJ the Prsident.