Mahatma's great grandson, or former ISRO scientist? INDIA narrows down its V-P list
At the late evening meeting held at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence, NCP (SP) Sharad Pawar is learnt to have suggested the name of author Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. The DMK, another key constituent of the bloc, has suggested the name of former ISRO scientist and Padma Shri awardee M Annadurai.
With the NDA having fielded Radhakrishnan, a veteran BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, the DMK finds itself in a spot and is keen that the Opposition field another leader from the state. Given that the NDA has the numbers to comfortably see Radhakrishnan to the post, the DMK fears that the BJP and AIADMK could use his election to vice-president as a poll issue in the Assembly elections next year.
Earlier in the day, BJP Tamil Nadu state chief Nainar Nagendran declared the nomination of Radhakrishnan as 'a moment of Tamil pride' and urged the DMK to 'correct its historic blunder' of not supporting A P J Abdul Kalam for a second term as President.
Sources said some more names, including that of a former judge, were discussed, but consensus seems to be largely around either Tushar Gandhi or Annaduarai.
The Trinamool Congress has been keen on a non-politician as Opposition candidate, and sources in the party said both the names were acceptable to it.
Annadurai served as programme director for Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2 and the Mars Orbiter Mission.
Top leaders of the INDIA bloc will meet again Tuesday noon to finalise the name, with sources saying Kharge will take a final call on the nominee for the September 9 elections.
In the previous election for the vice-president's post, which was won by NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Trinamool Congress had abstained, after claiming that the Opposition had decided to nominate Margaret Alva without consulting it. This time, however, all the Opposition parties aligned with INDIA seem to be on board to field a joint candidate.
If Tushar Gandhi is fielded, he would be the second relative of Mahatma Gandhi to be nominated for the post. In 2017, the Opposition had fielded Gandhi's grandson Rajmohan Gandhi as the candidate against NDA nominee M Venkaiah Naidu.
The Opposition's decision to field a candidate against the NDA nominee is symbolic as the ruling alliance has the numerical strength to ensure an easy victory for Radhakrishnan.
The Governor of Maharashtra currently, Radhakrishnan arrived in the Capital Monday, and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi before being hosted by Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi along with senior NDA leaders such as JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha and Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal (S) at his residence.
'Met Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji. Conveyed my best wishes on his being the NDA's Vice Presidential nominee. His long years of public service and experience across domains will greatly enrich our nation,' PM Modi said in a post on X.
Joshi posted: 'Hosted the NDA meeting at my residence in Delhi. NDA leaders congratulated and welcomed the Vice President candidate Shri C P Radhakrishnan.'
Sources said Radhakrishnan would be introduced to the NDA Parliamentary Party prior to the filing of his nomination on Tuesday.
Union minister Bhupender Yadav and Civil Aviation Minister and TDP national general secretary Ram Mohan Naidu, apart from BJP leaders, were part of the contingent that received Radhakrishnan at the airport. Also present was Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who has been picked to be Radhakrishnan's election agent.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who has been appointed as his campaign manager, has been speaking with 'leaders across the political spectrum', seeking their support for the NDA's candidate.
On Sunday evening, Singh spoke to Kharge, while Rijiju called up Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday and sought his support.
With the NDA having fielded C P Radhakrishnan, a veteran BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, the DMK is keen that the Opposition field a leader from the state. This could undercut any BJP-AIADMK attempt to cash in on Radhakrishnan's election in the Assembly elections next year.
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