New Delhi: The BJP Parliamentary Board will meet on Saturday to choose the Vice Presidential candidate whose victory will be certain as the ruling NDA has a majority in the electoral college.
BJP sources said it would also approach other parties to build a consensus on the election, amid indications that the opposition would also field its candidate to contest the election, as it is for the presidential election.
The Parliamentary Board is the apex organizational body of the BJP, and its members include Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, besides party president JP Nadda. The last date for filing nomination papers for the election is July 19 and the election is scheduled for August 6.
The electoral college, who is also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, consists of members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, to choose the next Deputy Speaker. The BJP alone has 394 MPs out of the current strength of 780 in Parliament, which is over 390 of the majority. The tenure of present M Venkaiah Naidu ends on August 10.
The NDA has named Santhal tribal Draupadi Murmu from Odisha as its presidential candidate, who is set to win the July 18 election, with several regional parties including some from the opposition camp such as the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Regional parties have given their support. Major opposition parties such as the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party are also said to vote for whom, Murmu or the opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha.
Given the choice of its presidential candidate, there is speculation that the BJP may field an OBC or an upper caste candidate from the northern state.
