Engaged in what appears to be a lost battle for the presidency, the BJP plans to put up a fight for the vice-president’s post and is mulling over the idea of fielding former Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Najma Heptullah as its candidate for next month’s election.
A senior BJP leader, who asked not to be named, said the party was gearing up for the vice-president’s election in the light of the decision of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA), or the Third Front, to put up a candidate of its own.
“If the UPA-Left and the United National Progressive Alliance field their candidates, we cannot sit and watch silently. We will have to put up a fight,” the leader said.
Heptullah, a former Congress leader who switched loyalty to the BJP in 2004, could be a likely choice for the vice-presidential candidacy, the BJP leader remarked.
“Najma can be a likely choice. But there is no final decision as yet. We will meet our allies later this week to discuss the issue,” he added.
The BJP believes the Left-backed ruling alliance may name someone staunchly opposed to it as the candidate for the vice-president’s post. Names of historian Irfan Habib and Jamia Milia Islamia vice-chancellor Mushirul Hasan are already doing the rounds as possible UPA-Left candidates for the post.