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Who is Tiruchi Siva? INDIA bloc’s frontrunner for vice presidential election
All eyes are on Opposition's pick for the vice president race, for which DMK leader Tiruchi Siva emerging as the most prominent name.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) naming CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the vice presidential election, all eyes are now on Opposition's pick for the race for which DMK leader Tiruchi Siva is emerging as the most prominent name.
Opposition parties, under the INDIA bloc, are likely to declare their joint vice-presidential candidate on Tuesday after another round of meetings, in what reports said is likely going to be a "south versus south" contest for the second-highest constitutional post in the country after NDA picked Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan for the same.
Several opposition leaders met at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in Delhi on Monday evening and discussed names for their joint candidate for the vice-president's post. Certain names were suggested, including some from Tamil Nadu.
Who is Tiruchi Siva? INDIA bloc's ‘likely’ V-P candidate
Amid speculation of him being the opposition's vice presidential candidate, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Tiruchi Siva said on Monday that he was not the person to inform on the development.
"I have no idea. Only leaders will decide that. I am not the person to tell that. My leaders are discussing," news agency ANI quoted Tiruchi Siva, a member of the Parliament (MP) representing Tamil Nadu in the Rajya Sabha.
Born in 1954 in Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirappalli, Tiruchi Siva was first elected as an MP from Pudukkottai to the 11th Lok Sabha in 1996 and has since then completed five terms in Parliament as member both, the lower house as well as Rajya Sabha.
Tiruchi Siva began his political career through the DMK’s student and youth wings, gradually rising through the ranks. He has been associated with the party for decades and is considered a close confidant of the DMK leadership, according to information available on the web.
In Parliament, Siva has earned recognition for his contributions in debates on human rights, education, federalism, and the rights of marginalised communities. Tiruchi Siva was the first MP to get a private member’s bill passed in the Rajya Sabha in 45 years – the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014 – marking a rare legislative achievement in 2015.
Tiruchi Siva is known for his composed demeanor, parliamentary experience, and deep knowledge of legislative processes, and has displayed the same during his long tenure in both houses of Parliament with his articulate participation in debates, particularly on social justice, federalism, and minority rights.
The Vice Presidential election, necessitated by the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar last month, is scheduled for September 9, with the NDA holding a significant numerical advantage in both houses of Parliament.
A vice president's term is for five years. Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on July 21, citing health reasons.
