logo
Who will be next Vice President? Harivansh, Nitish, Arif among in race to succeed Jagdeep Dhankhar

Who will be next Vice President? Harivansh, Nitish, Arif among in race to succeed Jagdeep Dhankhar

Mint6 days ago
The Election Commission of India said on Wednesday that it has already begun the process of electing a new Vice President. The announcement comes two days after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post, opening the contest for his successor.
Dhankhar, 74, assumed office in August 2022. His five-year term would end in August 2027. Dhankhar's abrupt resignation means a new Vice President has not been elected within the next two months.
While the Election Commission has yet to announce the poll schedule, sources say the country will likely have a new Vice President by the end of August.
Dhankhar's resignation has set off a wave of speculation about his potential successor.
One of the past governors, as Dhankhar was of West Bengal before taking the vice president's office, or a seasoned organisational leader or one of the Union ministers – the BJP has a large pool of leaders to choose from for the position.
Dhankhar's resignation comes as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in the process of electing its new national president, replacing JP Nadda. According to some reports, the saffron party may get a new president after August 15.
Whenever the election happens, the ruling National Democratic Alliance and the opposition INDIA bloc will field their candidates for the top post. The electorate for the Vice Presidential election comprises all members of both Houses of Parliament, using a proportional representation system via single transferable vote. The MPs will cast a single transferable vote with a secret ballot.
The electoral college currently has 788 MPs- 588 in Lok Sabha and 245 in Rajya Sabha.
The ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a majority in the electorate, which means the NDA candidate will be the next Vice President of India
At present, the effective strength of both Houses is 786, and the winning candidate will require 394 votes, considering that all eligible voters exercise their franchise.
In the Lok Sabha, the BJP-led NDA enjoys the support of 293 of the 542 members. The ruling alliance has the support of 129 members in the Rajya Sabha, assuming that the nominated members vote in support of the NDA nominee, which has an adequate strength of 240.
So, overall, the ruling alliance has the support of 422 members in both the houses as against the requirement of 394.
Among the frontrunners from the NDA camp is Harivansh Narayan Singh, a Janata Dal (United) MP who has been the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman since 2020.
Harivansh has been temporarily filling the role of Rajya Sabha chair until the election of the next Vice President of India. In the 2020 Deputy Speaker Elections, Harivansh defeated Opposition candidate and RJD leader Manoj Jha.
Nitish Kumar's name has also been floating around for the post. However, the JD-U chief will have to leave the CM chair, months before the elections, so Kumar seems an unlikely candidate.
Yet, NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha suggested that Nitish Kumar step down as CM to make way for the next generation.
Manoj Sinha will complete five years as the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Jammu and Kashmir this August, fuelling speculation about his candidature as Vice President.
Sinha is a former MP, Union minister and an old BJP hand from Uttar Pradesh's Purvanchal region.
Two Union Ministers — Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Health Minister JP Nadda — have also been suggested as contenders.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has also emerged as a contender for some. To be a VP, Tharoor, who has an uneasy relationship with the Congress party, will have to leave his Lok Sabha MP seat.
Dhankhar's abrupt resignation has set off a wave of speculation about his potential successor.
Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan is also counted in the list. A former Congress and Janata Dal MP, Khan left the Congress in 1986 over the Shah Bano case. Before Bihar, he was Governor of Kerala.
Well, all these are speculations. Who knows, like in the past, the BJP will come up with a surprise pick. Until then, more names will be added to the list of frontrunners for Vice President of India.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Survey Finds Fictitious Voters Registered In Bengal, Probe Ordered
Survey Finds Fictitious Voters Registered In Bengal, Probe Ordered

NDTV

time13 minutes ago

  • NDTV

Survey Finds Fictitious Voters Registered In Bengal, Probe Ordered

Kolkata: An attempt at voter list manipulation in Bengal is suspected after a small audit revealed serious violations in the handling of Election Commission's Form 6, used to register new voters. Investigations have been ordered into the new voter registrations that took place over the last year and into the two officials allegedly involved. A memo from the Chief Electoral Officer accessed by NDTV indicates that the two "Electoral Registration Officers" or ERO had accepted a considerable number of applications from fictitious voters. The mandatory verification process was bypassed. The irregularities were detected after a sample review of less than 1 per cent of Form 6 submitted was undertaken. The memo said the mandatory verification by a Booth Level Officer was deliberately skipped, and similar documents were used repeatedly for multiple fraudulent applications. The memo also said casual Data Entry Operators were granted access to the ERO Net system. They were the ones who disposed of the applications improperly. The Chief Electoral Officer has ordered the district officials to take immediate action. Teams of senior officer teams should be formed to investigate all Form 6 disposals carried out over the past year, they have been told. A detailed report has to be submitted by August 14. Additionally, it was directed that contractual or casual data entry operators not be allowed to handle Form 6, 7, or 8 or any ERO Net-related duties, moving forward. The urgent directive highlights a significant breach in electoral protocol. An internal probe is in progress against the two EROs. The matter comes amid a huge row over the revision of voter lists in Bihar that has now reached the Supreme Court. The Opposition parties allege the Election Commission's processes will result in largescale disenfranchisement of voters that would benefit the BJP. Assembly elections are due next year in Bengal - where the BJP has been trying to capture power from Trinamool Congress chief and three-time Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Kochi Corporation to examine complaints about draft electoral rolls
Kochi Corporation to examine complaints about draft electoral rolls

The Hindu

time13 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Kochi Corporation to examine complaints about draft electoral rolls

The Kochi Corporation has initiated measures to examine complaints about the draft electoral rolls. Field officers will examine complaints about the en masse shifting of voters from their divisions to other divisions. A report based on the examination will be published on the Election Commission website. Hearings on complaints received till now will start on July 31. Hearings will be held on complaints lodged through Akshaya centres on enlisting names, corrections in names and addresses, change of divisions, and deleting the names of voters who are either dead or no longer reside in the divisions concerned. Councillors had raised complaints about the draft electoral rolls. Call for nuns' release The Corporation council on Tuesday passed a resolution calling for the release of the two nuns arrested in Chhattisgarh. The resolution moved by Left Democratic Front (LDF) councillor George Nanatt was passed by the council. While the United Democratic Front (UDF) councillors backed the resolution, the BJP councillors opposed it. The BJP councillors were reportedly offended at the demand that the Central government intervene to get the nuns released and punish the guilty even as they sought its removal from the resolution. They argued that the Centre could not do anything beyond the law. LDF and UDF councillors opposed that stand. LDF councillor V.A. Sreejith said that the Centre had the responsibility to intervene. Councillor P.R. Raneesh quoted from the book Bunch of Thoughts written by M.S. Golwalkar in his reply to the BJP councillors. He said that the book dubbed Christians as enemies, and that they would be dealt with accordingly. The UDF demanded a ban on the Bajrang Dal. Mayor M. Anilkumar sought to know on what grounds the Centre's interventions should not be demanded. He said that the attack against nuns had ramifications in national politics.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store