PM Modi, Nadda to select NDA Vice-Presidential candidate

The National Democratic Alliance’s candidate for the upcoming vice-presidential election will be selected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President JP Nadda on Tuesday. The name of the chosen one is expected to be announced on the same day.

The announcement was made following a high-level meeting of the NDA leaders last week.

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August 21 is the deadline for filing nominations, and the vice-presidential election is set to take place on September 9.

The NDA meeting, held in the national capital on Thursday, passed a resolution authorising PM Modi and Nadda to select the NDA candidate for Vice Presidential elections.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presided over the meeting attended by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and others.

Following the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiran Rijiju briefed media persons, saying the final candidate chosen by the prime minister and the BJP president would have the consensus and support of all NDA partners.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, Lok Janshakti Party’s Chirag Paswan, the TDP’s Lavu Krishna Devarayalu, and the Republican Party of India’s Ramdas Athawale also attended the meeting.

Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has already announced unconditional support to the BJP’s choice of candidate a day before the crucial meeting.

The vice-presidential election was necessitated by the sudden mid-term resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar, who vacated the post citing medical reasons. His departure, however, sparked widespread speculation of underlying tensions between him and the Modi government.

The vice president of India is elected by an electoral college comprising members of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

With a clear numerical advantage in Parliament, the NDA holds sufficient strength to ensure the victory of its chosen candidate.