Opposition to opt for consensus candidate in V-P election unlike 2022

The Election Commission is expected to notify the vice-presidential election any time soon, but the Opposition parties haven’t begun a formal conversation on their position in the poll. However, there is an informal consensus building in the Opposition camp towards the idea that the mistakes made in the 2022 contest should not be repeated. 

In 2022, going against the broader agreement, the Congress fielded its veteran leader Margaret Alva. Miffed at not being consulted, the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) decided to abstain from the election, instead of voting for either Ms. Alva from the Opposition camp or Jagdeep Dhankhar from the government side. Announcing the Trinamool’s decision to abstain from the election, party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee had said, “If you want to keep Opposition unity, you have to rise above ego and self-interest.”  A total of 55 members abstained from the election and Mr. Dhankhar won it by 346 votes. 

‘In better position’

Voices from both within and outside of the Congress articulated that the selection of Ms. Alva was a mistake since it split the Opposition votes. Though, even with the AAP and the Trinamool support, the Opposition still didn’t have the requisite numbers.

“This time the contest is keener, we have better numbers. It is time to ensure that we keep our numbers intact,” a senior Opposition leader said. The difference in the votes between the two sides, if there is a 100 per cent voting, is a little over 150.

The Opposition, however, will wait for the government to declare its candidate before beginning consultations on who to field. With the upcoming Bihar Assembly election, which is expected to see a heated contest between the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the Opposition’s coalition, Mahagatbandhan, the Opposition is clear that it won’t concede the position without putting up a fight. “These are not purely arithmetic battles, where you give up the fight even before starting. This is a battle of ideas,” a third Opposition leader said. The Opposition is looking for a candidate who, if not popular, is acceptable to all sides equally.