LK Advani says he is not in presidential race. Who will BJP now pick for the Rashtrapati Bhavan?

Putting all speculations to an end, BJP patriarch Lal KrishnaAdvani on Friday said that he is not in the race for the post of the Presidentof India.

Advani's name was doing the rounds as he was believed to be a strong contender for the post. Advani started his political career as avolunteer for the RSS and served as the country's Home Minister between1998-2004. He was also appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister during AtalBihari Vajpayee's regime.

In an interview to CNN News18 outside the parliament, Advanisaid that he was not in the race for President. Earlier in the month, some reports suggested that the Prime Minister had suggested LK Advani's name for the post ofIndia's President. PM Narendra Modi had apparently putforward Advani's name during a meeting in Gujarat's Somnath.

Now that the senior BJP leader himself has ruled out ofbeing in the Presidential race, here are some other names that are floatingaround for the post.  

Murli Manohar Joshi

Age: 83

Plus: A veteran RSS ideologue and a prominent Brahmin facefrom Uttar Pradesh (where the BJP recorded a sweeping victory in the recentlyconcluded assembly polls), Joshi has good rapport with the allies, as well aswith the JD(U), BJD and the AIADMK. RSS leaders think he can be a good choiceas their first ideologue in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Over the past two years, he hasalso successfully bridged the gap with PM Modi.

What's not in his favour: There is not much support for himwithin the party. He has always been seen as the third in command in the lineof leadership hierarchy, after Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani.

Ram Naik

Age: 82

Plus: An old warhorse with a good stint in the UP RajBhawan. Naik, a former Cabinet Minister in the earlier NDA government, also hasgood rapport with Modi, Amit Shah and the RSS leadership.

What's not in his favour: It will be difficult for the BJPto pick him and ignore the big two also in the fray.

Ramnath Kovid

Age: 71

Plus: The BJP's best bet as a Dalit face. He belongs to theDalit community Koli and worked extensively in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar beforebeing elevated as the Bihar Governor. Earlier, he headed the party's Dalit baseand groomed several leaders for the BJP and the RSS. At one time, the partywanted to project his as an alternative to Mayawati in UP.

What's not in his favour: He does not have backing ofleaders from other communities, both in the party and the RSS. Not having animpressive tenure as the Bihar Governor is another handicap. He has been closeto Home Minister Rajnath Singh, but the proximity can backfire as well when itcomes to his candidature.

Thawar Chand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Development& Entrepreneurship

Age: 68

Plus: A noted Dalit face and a Modi-Amit Shah loyalist, hiselevation to the President's post can help BJP portray a pro-Dalit image, wipeout the weakening BSP in Uttar Pradesh and further extend the party's baseamong dalits in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra.

What's not in his favour: He does not have much backing fromthe RSS. Moreover, the Sangh believes he can still deliver as a CabinetMinister and should serve the party at the national level.

Draupadi Murmu

Age: 58

Plus: A tribal woman leader from Odisha and currently theGovernor of Jharkhand, Murmu may be projected as the first tribal President ofIndia and that too, from the BJP fold. This can help the party expand its basein the tribal areas of the country.

What's not in her favour: She may not be too keen for thisposition as she is eyeing the Rajya Sabha and a meaty portfolio in the UnionCabinet.

Sumitra Mahajan, Speaker, Lok Sabha

Age: 73

Plus: A woman leader and a seasoned politician from Indore.Has a strong network among politicians across party lines. She is close to bothPM Modi and party chief Amit Shah.

What's not in her favour: RSS may not favour her as achoice. It is still not clear, whether party leadership is considering her bet.She may lose out to Sushma Swaraj as a choice, who has all the backing from bigRSS leaders. (Swaraj is pitching for VP post, but if women president needs tobe made, she can be the first choice).

Amitabh Bachchan, Actor

Age. 73

Plus:  Close to PM Modi and is first choice to be theface of the government's social campaigns.

What's not in his favour: His last tenure as a politicianwas a disaster. RSS may veto his name. Plus his wife continues to be SamajwadiParty's MP and a bitter critic of the RSS and the NDA government.  

Rajinikanth, Actor

Age: 66

Plus: A huge fan base in Tamil speaking community across theworld. His name will help BJP make inroads into Tamil Nadu before 2019. Withthe death of J Jayalalithaa, BJP sees as an opportunity to make a dent in Tamilpolitics.

What's not in his favour: BJP doesn't a large cadre in thestate. The party's tallest leader down south is Pon Radhakrishnan.  

Office of the Vice President: The four in fray

Sushma Swaraj

Age: 65

Plus: Currently the Minister of External Affairs and alsoresponsible for overseas Indian affairs. Reports suggest that she is keen to gofor the not-so-strenuous role due to health reasons as she has recentlyundergone a kidney transplant. Her stint as a Cabinet Minister is rated highand she has also worked as a backroom strategist. Swaraj is active on Twitteras the minister in charge of overseas Indians. She has also gelled well withTeam Modi.

What's not in her favour: After the exit of Defence MinisterManohar Parrikar--he is now Chief Minister of Goa--it is not easy for PM Modito spare her as well. She is a key member of the team working on the Chinastrategy and with the ongoing changes in the U.S. regime, she will be requiredeven more.

M Venkaiah Naidu

Age: 67

Plus: Currently serving as the Minister of Urban Developmentand also in charge of Information and Broadcasting. Just like Swaraj, he, too,is keen to take on a lighter assignment due to health issues. A former leaderof the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Naidu has firm backing of theRSS leadership.

What's not in his favour: Once again, it may be difficultfor PM Modi to spare Naidu, especially when Amit Shah is working on a missionto crack South India for the BJP. Naidu is required for his oratory skills andhis friends across the party line down south to make this mission successful.Naidu as a choice can work both ways.

Kalraj Mishra

Age: 76

Plus: Currently the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME) Minister in the Union Cabinet, Mishra has played an active role inmobilising Brahmin votes in the UP polls. He has already celebrated his 75thbirthday and is keenly pushing for the Office of the Vice President as an exitroute.

What's not in his favour: Not an RSS choice and most of theleaders consider him as "close" to a particular caste. His work asthe MSME head is seen as a below-average performance.

Parkash Singh Badal

Age: 89

Plus: Five-time Chief Minister of Punjab and a veteran ofanti-Emergency struggle, he is only the second leader outside the BJP to beconsidered for the top role. During the first tenure of the NDA, another Akalileader, Simranjit Singh Mann, was elected as the Vice President of India. Badalwas the Union Cabinet Minister for agriculture in PM Morarji Desai's governmentalong with Advani and Vajpayee. However, Badal's party, the Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) is now out of power in Punjab.

The veteran leader may not contest thenext polls because of his age, and can be rewarded with this office. It wasonly his presence in the government that led the BJP's central leadership toavoid a split with the Akalis before the assembly polls. But his exit from thestate politics may enable the BJP to gradually move out of the alliance.

What's not in his favour: It will require the BJP leadershipto exercise a great deal of manoeuvring to ward off other aspirants, especiallywhen the party has comfortable numbers.