NEW DELHI: For the vice-presidential election scheduled for August 5, the BJP believes it is in a secure position, and therefore would like to nominate one of its own members for the post.
The candidate is likely to be from the south, since the top four posts of the country - president, vice-president, PM, and speaker - are all currently occupied by people from other regions.
Sources in the BJP say that the NDA has the support of nearly 70 per cent of the electoral college for the post of vice-president, which includes MPs of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, including nominated ones.
“We have the assured support of 550 MPs, which may further increase in the coming days,” said a senior BJP leader.
Incidentally, Independent MPs in the Rajya Sabha and most of the nominated ones in both Houses have reached out to BJP leaders expressing support in the both the presidential and vice-presidential elections.
“After Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from his visits to Israel and Germany, there will be discussions to decide on the nominee for the vice-president’s election. Since proceedings in the Rajya Sabha have proved to be challenging for the government, the nominee will be from within the party,” added the BJP leader.
The vice-president is also the presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha.
The BJP believes the NDA government has to see through only two more sessions of Parliament before it can have its way in the Rajya Sabha. “The BJP will be the single largest party in the Rajya Sabha next year. Our strength will go up from 56 now to 75 by early next year while the Congress will slide to the 40s from the current 58,” the BJP leader added.