Vice Presidential poll: Naidu, Gandhi file nomination

NDA nominee M Venkaiah Naidu and joint opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Tuesday filed their nomination papers for the election for Vice President to pick a successor to incumbent Mohammad Hamid Ansari.
 
The two serious contenders for the post – 68-year-old Naidu and 72-year-old Gandhi – submitted their papers on the last day of filing of nominations and after nearly three dozen vice president hopefuls have already done so.
 
Prime Miniser Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah, senior leaders L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj among others accompanied Naidu as he submitted his nomination papers to Rajya Sabha Secretary General Sumsher Sheriff, the Returning Officer for the election of the vice president.
 
Earlier, leaders of the NDA held a meeting in the Library Building in the Parliament House Complex and then walked the short distance together along with Naidu to Sheriff's office in the main building. Naidu quit as the Union Minister for Urban Development and Information & Broadcasting after Shah announced his candidature for the vice president election. He also quit from the BJP.
 
“On being elected I will uphold traditions, standards set by the worthy predecessors and maintain dignity of office,” Naidu told reporters after filing his nomination.
 
Gandhi also submitted his nomination papers in the presence of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, her deputy Rahul, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav among others.
 
“I do not belong to any party. I am not here to oppose any person or party, I am here with all humility to place before electors, the aspirations of citizens,” Gopalkrishna Gandhi told reporters here.
 
All members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are eligible to vote in the vice presidential election. The electoral colleges comprises 790 members but there two vacancies in each in Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Congress leader Shantaram Naik's term as Rajya Sabha members ends on July 29, while Lok Sabha member Chhedi Paswan is ineligible to vote pending a case in the Supreme Court challenging his disqualification.
 
Of the 784 members eligible to vote in the August 5 election, the NDA has support of more than 500 members that would ensure Naidu a smooth sailing to the coveted post.
 
The Biju Janata Dal, which had supported NDA candidate Ramnath Kovind in the Presidential election, on Tuesday announced support for Gandhi, the joint opposition nominee.