United Opposition mulls Vice-President candidate despite slim odds

With the notification for the Vice-President election issued, the parties in Opposition have started consultations to finalise a “strong and determined political face” who will be acceptable to all non-NDA parties.

Opposition leaders are likely to formally meet early next week to decide on a name. However, there has been no indication from the united Opposition as to who their candidate might be.

According to sources, the numbers in the electoral college—which comprises all Members of Parliament from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha—are skewed against the Opposition, and the ruling NDA has a “definite and clear” edge.

The Bharatiya Janata Party can garner around 500 votes while the Opposition could get 250-260 votes, an analysis of party strength in Parliament showed.

Senior Opposition leaders have initiated dialogue among themselves, and efforts are on to zero-in on a “credible” face, who is willing to fight a battle that they are likely to lose. “We need to put up a political fight. The results are a foregone conclusion. But we are not in for an uncontested election,” a senior Opposition leader said.

Speculations are rife that Union minister Mukthar Abbas Naqvi—who resigned from the Narendra Modi cabinet after being denied a ticket to return to Rajya Sabha—could be the NDA’s choice for Vice-President, who will also act as Chairman of Rajya Sabha.