New Delhi: The India Alliance has begun its preparations for the Vice Presidential election to be held on September 9. This indicates that the opposition bloc is not in a mood to give a free hand to the NDA candidate. After the sudden resignation of former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21, there were speculations in political circles that the election for the post of Vice President is almost certain.
On Friday, the Election Commission issued a notification regarding the election. The last date for nomination is August 21 and the last date for withdrawal is August 25. Voting will be held on September 9 and counting of votes will take place on the same day. Both the ruling NDA and the opposition party India Block have not yet finalised the names of their candidates. Announcements are expected from both camps in the coming days.
However, discussions have started within the main opposition party Congress regarding the election. The Congress will prepare a strategy for the Vice Presidential election along with the member parties. The BJP will also play the same role in the ruling NDA. JDU and TDP are major allies in the NDA.
According to Congress insiders, India Block leaders, who have been giving the government a hard time by demanding a debate on the controversial issue of the Pahalgam terror attack and Bihar voter list revision since the monsoon session began on July 21, will soon meet to discuss the vice-presidential candidate.
Congress Lok Sabha member Saptagiri Shankar Ulaka told ETV Bharat, “Of course, we have to field our candidate and we will do so. He said, why should the NDA candidate get an edge. India Block members will soon discuss the issue. He said that India Block cannot let go of this opportunity in any way.
The Congress leader said that apart from being a regular election for a constitutional post, the Vice Presidential election is taking place in the backdrop of the way the former Vice President resigned on July 21, the first day of the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, citing health reasons.
The Congress had later claimed that differences between the Center and Dhankhar over the impeachment of High Court judge Yashwant Verma in an alleged corruption case were linked to the former Vice President’s resignation. Dhankhar’s term was to end on August 10, 2027, and now he has a little more than two years left.
Ulaka said, “The resignation has raised many questions. This has shown the rift within the ruling party and the Centre. It is not yet clear whether Dhankhar resigned out of anger or the BJP leadership forced him to do so.”
According to Congress insiders, the NDA has sufficient numbers in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, but the contest in India Block is also tough. He further said that if the opposition is able to field a strong candidate, then the 9 members of BJD in Rajya Sabha and 12 of JD-U and 16 of TDP in Lok Sabha can create some trouble for the BJP.
BJD Rajya Sabha member Subhashish Khuntia told ETV Bharat, “BJD is an independent party. We are neither with NDA nor with India Block. We will take a decision on the Vice President election as per the instructions of our leadership. But I can say that this election will prove to be a tough time for the BJP. Other regional parties will also carefully evaluate their stand.”
As per the rules, elected and nominated members of Rajya Sabha and elected members of Lok Sabha will vote in the Vice Presidential election. 543 members of Lok Sabha and 245 members of Rajya Sabha will vote for the Vice Presidential election. Due to vacancies in both the Houses, a total of 782 MPs will participate in the voting. NDA has 293 members in the Lower House while the All India Party has 232 members. NDA has 133 members in the Upper House while the All India Party has 107 members.
