BJP parliamentary board to finalise NDA vice presidential candidate on August 17

New Delhi: The BJP parliamentary board is set to convene on August 17 to finalise the name of the ruling National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate for the upcoming vice presidential election.

The NDA has authorised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president J P Nadda to take the lead in selecting the candidate who will represent the party-led alliance in the election. The last date for filing nominations is August 21.

In a coordinated effort, chief ministers and deputy chief ministers from BJP-led states, along with Union ministers and the Prime Minister, are expected to participate in the nomination-filing process to show strong support for the alliance’s nominee.

The parliamentary Monsoon session, which resumes on August 18 following a short recess, is likely to see the NDA candidate attending a meeting of BJP and allied leaders before formally filing their nomination, sources said.

Several sets of nominations will be filed by MPs in the NDA candidate's support, a leader said.

While the opposition is also anticipated to name a candidate, which could lead to a contest, the vice presidential election is scheduled for September 9. Given the NDA’s comfortable majority in the electoral college, comprising members of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the victory of its candidate is widely seen as a foregone conclusion.

This election has become necessary following the unexpected resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

With PTI inputs