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Three reasons why the BJP wants its man as the vice-president
The party will pick a candidate based on his or her ability to run Rajya Sabha, of which the Vice President is also ex-officio Chairman.
Indian parliamentarians will vote on August 5 to elect a new Vice President, a post largely seen as ceremonial with limited administrative powers.
The vote, however, is crucial for the ruling BJP, which will field a leader from within its ranks for the post.
Sources in the party say a candidate will be picked based on his or her ability to run Rajya Sabha, of which the Vice President is also ex-officio Chairman.
Here are three things that the BJP may try to achieve on August 5.
1. Rajya Sabha: The BJP is in a minority in Rajya Sabha and a sense of unease exists in its relationship with the current chairman Hamid Ansari, an appointee of the UPA, who made several remarks that did not go well with the Narendra Modi government. A man of its choice will limit instances of strain between the chair and the treasury.
2. Reform Bills: Several reform agenda of the Narendra Modi government is stuck in the upper house. With less than two years to go for the next general election, the effective time that the government has in its hands is about 100 working days of Parliament.
Modi will attempt to get the bills cleared at the earliest so that most of them are executed before the next election bells ring.
3. Rajya Sabha TV: As chairman of the upper house, the Vice President is the in-charge of the Rajya Sabha television. Leaders in the ruling camp are not happy with the way Rajya Sabha TV has functioned under Ansari which has sometimes been critical of government policies. The new Vice President will give the ruling side an opportunity to fine tune the operations of the Rajya Sabha TV.
