Defeats of the opposition candidates in both the Presidential and Vice Presidential elections were certain considering the current supremacy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Indian politics. But at the same time, no one had expected the opposition parties to surrender so timidly in these elections as a good contest could have boosted their morale before the all-crucial 2024 general elections. Clearly, the opposition parties have lost yet another golden opportunity to project an alternative to the electorate. The failure will also harm their electoral prospects considerably in the forthcoming Assembly elections in a few states. The battle for the top two posts of the country had begun quite well for the opposition parties as veteran leader Sharad Pawar took the initiative to bring the opposition parties together and put up a stiff challenge against the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The effort gained momentum as NDA was short of required 50 per cent support in the Electoral College comprising the MPs and MLAs of the country. So the job of the opposition parties was limited in selecting a candidate, who could make a dent in the NDA’s vote bank. In this regard Sharad Pawar was the best choice...