VP election: Uphill task for opposition in contest, bloc may field 'ideological' face

NEW DELHI: The opposition may field a strong "ideological" face as candidate in the vice-presidential election, as it looks to portray a strong contrast with the governing BJP's nominee to send out a political message across the country.

Ahead of discussions on picking a candidate, it is felt that since winnability is an uphill task due to opposition's weaker numerical strength in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, INDIA bloc should use the vice-president (VP) contest to send out an unambiguous signal to its core constituencies of marginalised sections, including backwards and minorities, farmers, and intellectuals and the civil society.

INDIA bloc is scheduled to meet Thursday (Aug 7), where Bihar assembly election is likely to be an issue as also the special intensive revision of the state's electoral rolls. The meeting, sources said, may also initiate a preliminary discussion on the likely candidate for the VP polls.

Unity on consensus candidate will be challenge for the opposition camp
At the meet, Rahul Gandhi may give a presentation on Congress's "research" on voters' lists which he has said proves beyond doubt that the rolls are being tampered with to help BJP.

The VP election has come prematurely after the controversial resignation by Jagdeep Dhankhar last month following an alleged confrontation with the govt over his decision to accept the notices to remove Justices Shekhar Yadav and Yashwant Varma. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge Saturday alleged that Dhankhar was biased against the opposition, but he took one independent decision and it led to his downfall, as he accused the Modi govt of pressuring constitutional authorities.

The opposition has been accusing the governing BJP of attacking constitutional values, secularism, fair elections, marginalised sections, besides weakening the economy and endangering the future of the youth. Some feel that an ideal VP candidate from the opposition camp should be able to represent these issues and send out a strong message.

Such a move by the opposition, insiders argue, will hammer home the ideological distinction between BJP and the opposition parties, and help rally the base as the latter looks to build upon its gains in the 2024 LS polls.

However, ensuring unity with a consensus candidate will also be a challenge for the opposition camp, where many partners compete against each other and are antagonistic.

In the first vice presidential election held after BJP assumed office in 2014, Congress and opposition had fielded Mahatma Gandhi's grandson and known intellectual Gopal Krishna Gandhi to take on BJP's M Venkaiah Naidu in 2017. However, when the opposition witnessed fissures in its ranks in 2022, there was a paucity of candidates and Congress was forced to field a party leader in Margaret Alva to take on BJP candidate Dhankhar.