INDIA bloc’s VP name to be non-Congress leader

The INDIA bloc plans to nominate a non-Congress candidate for the vice presidential election to unite opposition and maximize anti-BJP votes.

The INDIA bloc is set to opt for a non-Congress candidate in the upcoming vice presidential election, in an effort to unite all Opposition parties and maximise the anti-BJP votes, which includes at least 11 votes of the Aam Aadmi Party, two leaders aware of the matter said on Friday.

On Thursday, after the dinner hosted by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi at his residence, 14 senior Opposition leaders took part in another round of meeting where the issue of Vice-President election was discussed. (ANI)

“We can’t repeat the mistake of the last VP election,” a senior Opposition leader who attended the meeting on Thursday said, referring to the nomination of former Union minister and Congress leader Margaret Alva as the Opposition’s candidate. Trinamool Congress, then the second-largest Opposition outfit in Parliament, refused to support Congress nominee Alva.

The VP election is scheduled on September 9.

On Thursday, after the dinner hosted by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi at his residence, 14 senior Opposition leaders, including Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, former CMs Akhilesh Yadav, Uddhav Thackeray and Farooq Abdullah, TMC MPs Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien and CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby took part in another round of meeting where the issue of Vice-President election was discussed.

According to a second Opposition leader, during the discussion TMC indicated its unwillingness to field a party candidate as it had no such ambitions. On July 24, Kharge told HT that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) will “collectively take a decision” for the upcoming Vice-President election.

In the meeting, Kharge broached the topic and sought the opinion of the other leaders.

According to the second Opposition leader, “All leaders agreed that the INDIA bloc must fight the polls.” A couple of Opposition leaders argued that while the NDA has enough numbers to sail though its Vice President candidate, the INDIA bloc can’t give a walkover and must fight on ideological ground.

A senior Opposition leader said, “There was no decision on the candidate. But we have kept options open to field either a political leader or an important social figure who adheres to our belief in the Constitution and the democratic values.”

A third Opposition leader, however, ruled out the possibility of a Congress nominee saying that AAP’s 11 MPs (barring Swati Maliwal) would not vote for a Congress candidate. “Also, possible allies such as BJD or YSRCP too would not come on board for a Congress candidate,” the leader added.

The TMC, meanwhile, has maintained that it doesn’t want to contest in such elections. “Also, the Left parties, which have 16 MPs in Parliament, would not vote for a TMC candidate,”said another leader.