Opposition didn't handle Presidential election properly: Amartya Sen

KOLKATA: Noble laureate economist Amartya Sen feels the opposition parties at the national level did not handle the Presidential election the way they should have.

"I certainly feel the opposition parties at the centre failed to handle the proceedings of this Presidential election the way they should have," Sen said here at the screening of a documentary based on him.

He said the opponents of the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) resorted to tactics while choosing their Presidential candidate rather than sticking to their principles while deciding the candidature.

"Politics often depends on how it is perceived. Often the politics we practise in this country is more about the tactics than about the principle. However, this is not a fruitful practice," the economist noted.

"The opposition waited to see which candidate the ruling party puts up and then decide their candidature. For instance, when the BJP put up a Dalit candidate, they did the same. If BJP would have opted for an intellectual candidate, they would have gone with someone like Gopalkrishna Gandhi," Sen added.

The Presidential election will be held on July 17.

While former Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind was named the BJP-led NDA candidate, the Congress-led opposition fielded former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. Both are Dalits.