Opposition leaders will again meet at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence today to discuss a joint candidate for the Vice President’s post. This, after a similar meeting held on Monday, remained inconclusive.
“A meeting of leaders of all Opposition parties in Parliament will be held at 12:30 PM Tuesday Aug 19th at 10, Rajaji Marg,” Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
Former Director of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Mylswamy Annadurai and social activist Tushar Gandhi, were among the names for Vice Presidential elevations discussed at a meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders on Monday at Kharge’s residence.
The opposition wants to field a non-political face who has national standing and stature for the second-highest constitutional position in the country, a source said.
The vice presidential election, necessitated by the sudden resignation of incumbent Jagdeep Dhankhar last month, is scheduled for 9 September. The last date for filing nominations is 21 August.
DMK proposes Annadurai
With the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fielding Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is learnt to have proposed Annadurai’s name at the meeting. According to reports, the suggestion also got the backing of some of the other parties.
Annadurai’s name, however, did not receive support from TMC as the Bengal’s ruling party felt there should not be Tamil vs Tamil fight. TMC is is learnt to have pushed for former Supreme Court judge B Sudarshan Reddy.
The name of senior DMK leader Tiruchi Siva is also doing the rounds, but the candidate will be finalised in today’s meeting.
Siva, however, refused to comment, saying his leadership will take a call on the issue. NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan hails from Tamil Nadu, which will go to polls in 2026.
Great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi
Tushar Gandhi, who is also theg reat-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, had joined Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in November 2022 as it passed through Maharashtra. In 2017, his uncle Gopalkrishna Gandhi was the UPA nominee for the Vice President post and had lost with 244 votes against NDA candidate Venkaiah Naidu.
Defence Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajnath Singh has also reached out to the leaders of some opposition parties, including Kharge, who is the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, for unanimously electing the new vice-president.
While the ruling BJP feels that the nomination of Radhakrishnan, a seasoned leader with an RSS background, will elicit support from the wider opposition, especially the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, it remains to be seen what stand the opposition parties take.
BJP president JP Nadda, while announcing the nomination of Radhakrishnan after a meeting of the party’s parliamentary board on Sunday, said the NDA will speak to the opposition parties to arrive at a consensus for the vice-presidential election.
The opposition wants to field a non-political face who has national standing and stature for the second-highest constitutional position in the country.
As things stand, the ruling NDA has sufficient votes to secure a victory for Radhakrishnan. The BJP-led alliance holds the edge in the 781-member electoral college with 424 members. The Opposition INDIA bloc, however, wants to put up a fight to highlight its commitment for the Constitution and democracy.
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