Guwahati: The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is scheduled to choose the vice-presidential candidate for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at a Parliamentary Board meeting on Saturday in Delhi. PM Narendra Modi will attend the meeting, which will take place at 5.30 pm today.
Notably, August 6 is the day set for the Vice-Presidential election. The deadline to nominate someone is July 19. Thus, the choice of the vice-presidential candidate is expected to be made and publicised today.
According to reports, apart from PM Narendra Modi, the meeting will be attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, and BJP national president JP Nadda.
Reportedly, this meeting would also include the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and the national general secretary of the BJP, BL Santosh.
As per the information, BJP leaders will meet with the leaders of the NDA’s constituent parties today to discuss the names under consideration for the vice-presidential candidate. The NDA Vice Presidential candidate’s name will thereafter be revealed.
The name will also be communicated to the NDA alliance’s other partners, according to sources quoted by news agency PTI.
While there are hints that the opposition will also put out a candidate to force a contest, as it did for the presidential election, it may also make contact with various parties to try to establish a consensus on the pick.
Members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha make up the Electoral College, which chooses the nation’s next Vice President, who also serves as the Rajya Sabha chairperson.
The BJP now has 303 members in the Lok Sabha and 91 members in the Rajya Sabha. In addition to these 91 Rajya Sabha members, 5 other members who have been nominated may also vote for the BJP candidate.