New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President and Union Minister JP Nadda will select the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for the upcoming Vice Presidential election on Tuesday. The announcement was made after a high-level meeting of NDA leaders in New Delhi on Thursday.
In a meeting chaired by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, a proposal to authorize Prime Minister Modi and Nadda was passed. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who was present in the meeting, later informed the media that the final candidate selected by the Prime Minister and the BJP President will have the consent and support of all NDA allies.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Shiv Sena’s Srikant Shinde, Lok Janshakti Party’s Chirag Paswan, TDP’s Lavu Krishna Devaraylu and Republican Party of India’s Ramdas Athawale also attended the meeting. Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had announced unconditional support to the BJP candidate on Wednesday.
The official announcement of the NDA’s Vice Presidential candidate is expected on Tuesday. This is happening before the last date of August 21 for filing nominations. The election for the post of Vice President became necessary due to the mid-term resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar. He had left the post citing medical reasons.
However, his departure has led to widespread speculation of tension between him and the government. The Vice President’s election is scheduled to be held on September 9. The Vice President of India is elected by an electoral college consisting of members of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. With a clear numerical advantage in Parliament, the NDA has enough numbers to ensure the victory of its chosen candidate. The Vice President of India is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, making this post politically important.
On the other hand, there is talk of fielding a joint candidate from the opposition as well. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is in touch with opposition parties to build a consensus on the names. It is believed that this is being done to give a strong political message.
However, no formal announcement has been made yet on choosing the candidate for the post of Vice President. Meanwhile, some opposition leaders also believe that the India Alliance should decide its candidate only after the BJP announces its candidate.
