The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is believed to be in favour of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) selecting a candidate belonging to the upper caste and southern India for the post of vice president, in its discussions with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the issue, sources said.
The RSS is learnt to have suggested this as the ruling BJP-led NDA nominated Ram Nath Kovind, who hails from northern India and is a Dalit, as its presidential candidate.
A vice presidential candidate from southern India, where the BJP is striving to spread its foothold, is being viewed as an advantage. Having a candidate from the upper caste will provide a balancing effect to the President being from the disadvantaged section feel the RSS, sources said.
BJP president Amit Shah yesterday met senior RSS leaders Bhaiyyaji Joshi and Krishna Gopal and discussed the issue.
According to sources, the three met at Keshav Kunj – the RSS headquarters in Delhi – and held an hour-long discussion on the “qualifications” of the candidate to be nominated for the August 5 vice presidential election.
Shah, who is in Delhi as part of his 110-day-long nationwide tour, is expected to convey the RSS’ choice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The issue is to be discussed at the BJP parliamentary board meeting before the announcement.
The BJP is expected to hold a meeting of its Parliamentary Board in a day or two.
With the last date for filing nomination papers for the vice-presidential election being July 18, the BJP is likely to announce its candidate by tomorrow. The monsoon session of parliament is beginning on Monday, the day of the presidential election.
The scrutiny of nomination papers for the vice presidential election will take place on July 19. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is July 21.
With opposition parties announcing the name of Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, as their nominee, a contest for the vice president’s post is imminent.
Sources in the BJP say that as per the RSS’ choice, Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao can emerge as front runner for the post as he brings with him a vast and varied experience in public life.
Rao, a senior BJP leader from Telangana, has served as union minister of state for home affairs and subsequently as union minister of state for commerce and industry in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government.
An activist of the RSS since childhood, Rao has been an MP in both houses of Parliament. He has an LLB from the Law College of Osmania University. Rao was also actively associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).