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Sources indicate the NDA nominee will likely be a BJP leader with strong ideological roots in the RSS, the party’s parent organisation
The BJP parliamentary board—which includes PM Modi, Nadda, defence minister Rajnath Singh, and home minister Amit Shah—will now give the green signal to the chosen name. File pic/PTI
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s top decision-making body is set to meet on Sunday evening to finalise the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s candidate for the upcoming Vice Presidential elections.
In a meeting of NDA leaders in Parliament on August 7, the alliance authorised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president JP Nadda to take the final call on behalf of all partners. The BJP parliamentary board—which includes PM Modi, Nadda, defence minister Rajnath Singh, and home minister Amit Shah—will now give the green signal to the chosen name.
Sources indicate the nominee will likely be a BJP leader with strong ideological roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the party’s parent organisation. Many names have been doing the rounds, from Rajnath Singh to JP Nadda to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and speculation has also been rife about a present governor being offered this post, such as Maharashtra’s CP Radhakrishnan, Gujarat’s Acharya Devrat, or J&K L-G Manoj Sinha.
Unlike the practice of the past, this time around, there has been no information about the government reaching out to the opposition parties yet on building consensus for the candidate for the Vice President of India. It is unlikely that the opposition will agree with the ruling side, given the acrimony that one has witnessed recently in Parliament, with the government refusing to discuss the issue that the opposition has been pursuing relentlessly regarding the SIR voter list review drive.
Once bitter critics of VP Jagdeep Dhankhar, and also having moved an impeachment motion against him at the end of last year, several members of the opposition showed much sympathy towards him after his resignation. This has not gone down too well, even within several quarters of the opposition, on why this sudden sympathy for Dhankhar and linking it to a fallout between the government and him.
In a major show of strength, chief ministers and deputy CMs of all NDA-ruled states are expected in Delhi on August 21—the last date for filing nominations. Senior NDA leaders will formally propose and second the candidate, with PM Modi himself expected to be the lead proposer.
The Vice Presidential race will not be a walkover—opposition parties are also set to field their own contender, setting the stage for a spirited contest.
The vacancy arose after Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s sudden resignation, citing health reasons. With the post declared vacant, the Election Commission announced polls for September 9. Nominations opened on August 7 and close on August 21. MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will vote to elect the country’s second-highest constitutional office bearer after the President.
In trademark style, the BJP has already lined up preparations—a special workshop for its MPs from September 6 to 9, expected to include mock voting drills to ensure maximum participation and error-free balloting. NDA MPs are likely to be part of similar training sessions, underlining the alliance’s intent to go all out for victory.
The position of the Vice President of India is extremely significant, as it is the second-highest constitutional post in the country. Apart from the VP’s role, the person is also the de facto chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
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