The day National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced its Presidential candidate; the result was a done deal. With the support pouring in from parties outside of NDA, President Election has become a formality. It is obvious that Honourable Former Governor of Jharkhand Droupadi Murmu will be the first tribal woman to be the President of India. This has shifted the focus to the next big election of Vice President, due on 6th August. So here we are decoding the probable candidates to the second highest office of the country, that is, Vice President.
Election Timeline and Important facts
The date of voting and counting, if needed, to elect the 16th Vice-President of India is 6th August. The nomination for this top post started on 5th July and the last date to file nomination is 19th July. The VP is elected indirectly by the Electoral College (both nominated and elected members of RS and LS) with a single transferable vote. The voting is done in a secret ballot and parties can’t issue whip to their members. The total strength of the Electoral College is 790 with numbers heavily stacked in NDA’s favour.
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Who will be the NDA’s pick?
The tenure of the current Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will end on 10th August. He has been the most successful vice president who drastically improved the productivity of the Rajya Sabha. There is a good enough possibility that the saffron party may repeat him as the Vice President. His age may be a hindrance in his re-appointment as he is currently 73 years young. As it has been a norm in the BJP to retire after attaining the age of 75. So let’s analyse the names making headlines for the vice president election.
The First name that is making headlines for the VP candidate is Anandiben Patel. She has vast experience of governance and administration. She is currently serving as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. Prior to that she served as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh. She was given additional charge of Governor of Chhattisgarh. She has been a tall political leader in Gujarat and BJP with great command over Patel community which has huge political say in the western state. Her stature in the party can be understood that she succeeded Narendra Modi when he vacated the office of Gujarat CM. She became the first female CM of Gujarat. She has been a confidant of PM Narendra Modi since his days of Gujarat politics. So, the party may propose her name eyeing the upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat.
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Second, the Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammad Khan is the people’s favourite for the post. He has been a vocal supporter of PM Modi’s policy. He expresses his articulate stand on every contemporary issue and represents the intellectual and progressive class among the Muslim community. He has been a crusader in raising voices for Indian Muslim women. To oppose the then government’s stand on Shah Bano case, he stepped down from his ministerial post which emphasises that he is an ideology and conviction driven man rather than the usual greedy politician.
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Third candidate the BJP may trust is of BJP’s stalwart Muslim leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. He is the tallest Muslim leader in the saffron party which has been unfoundedly accused of being an anti-Muslim party. He has vast experience in functioning of the government and has no conspiracy tailing him. His clean image plus developmental work through the Minority ministry may reap political benefit for him. Further, he has been a party confidant for decades and is rooted in its ideology. His vast experience and working relationship with opposition can be helpful in smooth functioning of the Rajya Sabha which is one of the prime duties of the Vice President.
Fourth, the BJP is trying to make political inroads in Punjab. For a very long time, it has been trying to shatter the party’s wrongful image among the Punjab voters. So headlines are suggesting that BJP may entrust Hardeep Singh Puri for the Vice President post. He is currently heading the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. He has been overseeing many pet projects of PM Modi. Hence, he is one of those rare diplomat turned politicians whom PM Modi trusts immensely. Further, being a former diplomat, he can form a consensus with the opposition to carry out the day to day working of Rajya Sabha.
Fifth, news reports are giving a clear edge to Former CM of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh for the 2nd highest office in the country. News reports claim that he can anytime merge his political outfit Punjab Lok Congress within BJP. But we in TFI have explained in detail why his candidature will not be a political success for BJP.
Read More: Captain Amarinder Singh is a bad choice for the post of VP
Strong Political messaging in NDA’s candidate
The BJP has been quite effective in making strong political messaging. PM Modi’s motto of inclusion of all. (Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas) is reflective in its choices for the top political posts in the country. NDA chose people’s favourite Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, a progressive Muslim with scientific temper for Presidential post. Similarly, Ram Nath Kovind, a dalit leader, as President, M Venkaiah Naidu, a son of a farmer, as the Vice President of India. The recent candidature of Droupadi Murmu, a Schedule tribe woman to the President office also stamps the inclusive motto of PM Modi.
So the ruling alliance, NDA would want to project a person with x-factor so that other communities or groups too feel included in the political representation to the highest offices. So chances are high that it may choose either a Muslim or Sikh leader as the new Vice President of India. But with PM Narendra Modi at the helm of affairs, a last moment surprise can’t be ruled out as well. So with only four days left until the last date of nomination, we will soon get to know whether the NDA picks anyone from our list of probable candidates.
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