BJP Parliamentary Board to meet on Sunday to finalise Veep pick

The BJP Parliamentary Board is to meet on Sunday evening at around 6 pm to finalise the name of the party’s Vice Presidential candidate, as per the sources.

According to sources, all the Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled states will participate in the nomination of the Vice Presidential candidate. NDA's Vice Presidential candidate will file his nomination on August 21.

On Thursday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President JP Nadda will finalise the NDA’s candidate for the upcoming Vice Presidential election, likely to be announced on August 12. His remarks came after a crucial meeting of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) floor leaders held at the Parliament building.

Senior leaders including JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde, Milind Deora, Praful Patel, Chirag Paswan, Upendra Kushwaha, Ram Mohan, Lallan Singh, Apna Dal (S) leader Anupriya Patel, and Ramdas Athawale attended the meeting.

The Election Commission of India on August 7 issued a notice regarding the elections that will take place to appoint the new Vice President of India on September 9. The latest notice details the specific dates for filing the nomination papers and candidature withdrawals.

The Vice Presidential election stems up after Jagdeep Dhankhar’s surprising resignation after he chaired the first day of the Parliament Monsoon Session as Rajya Sabha Chairman. In his letter to President Droupadi Murmu, Dhankhar cited prioritising healthcare and abiding by medical advice.

The move triggered speculation in political circles, with the Opposition raising questions. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said there might be “far more” to the resignation “than meets the eye”. He revealed that he spoke with the 74-year-old Dhankhar on the phone two hours before the resignation news broke and that the Vice President appeared to have no immediate concerns.

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