The BJP flag
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New Delhi: The BJP is likely to choose its Vice-Presidential candidate on Sunday at a meeting of the party’s Parliamentary Board, the party’s highest decision-making body. A formal announcement in this regard is expected on Monday.
A meeting of the NDA parties is scheduled for Tuesday, where the candidate will be accepted by other parties. PM Modi is likely to announce the candidate to NDA parties in the meeting. The last date of nominations for the elections is August 21.
Party leaders said that the BJP is likely to have a show of strength for the nomination of the candidate, with several chief ministers and deputy CMs likely to be present at the filing of nominations for the post.
Last week, floor leaders of the ruling National Democratic Alliance met at Parliament, and authorised PM Narendra Modi and Rajya Sabha Leader of the House JP Nadda to finalise the alliance candidate for the Vice President’s elections.
Sources in the BJP said that the top brass have made it clear that the next person to take the job will be a BJP insider. The fallout and eventual ouster of former VP Jagdeep Dhankar have made the leadership wary.
While several names have made the rounds for the VP’s position, highly placed sources said that the front runners include Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot and Gujarat Governor Devvrat Acharya. The names of Delhi L-G VK Saxena, Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and RSS leader Seshadri Chari, too, have made the rounds.
Elections to the VP post are scheduled for September 9.
The exit of Dhankar, which took place on the first day of the Monsoon Session, came as a surprise to many. But BJP leaders said that the fallout was brewing for a while. Dhankar has been taking decisions on his own for a while, and the final straw came when he allowed for a motion of impeachment against Justice Yashwant Verma by the Opposition.
Sources in the BJP had said that miffed by the development, BJP leaders skipped a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee on the day of the exit and instead sent in a sealed envelope which eventually led to his exit.
While BJP leaders remained tight-lipped about the content, there is speculation that the BJP was mulling an impeachment of Dhankar himself and over 132 signatures were collected.
It now remains to be seen whether the Opposition will select its own candidate for the position.