INDIA bloc decides to contest the Vice-Presidential polls  

Leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) have agreed in principle to field a candidate for the Vice-Presidential election even though the Opposition does not have the requisite numbers to win the election, in order to force a contest. The decision was taken at a dinner meeting of the bloc hosted by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

This was the first physical meeting of the INDIA bloc partners after a gap of 14 months. The last meeting was on June 1, 2024. The Election Commission notified the election on Thursday. Nominations have to be filed by August 21.

The INDIA bloc leaders will address a joint rally in Bihar on the issue of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the State. The Opposition had claimed that the SIR was an attempt to weed out many eligible voters.

The meeting began with a 30-minute presentation by Mr. Gandhi, which he had shared earlier in the day at a press conference. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav briefed the leaders on how the SIR was unfolding in the State, pointing out the various discrepancies in the draft electoral roll published on August 1. During the course of his intervention, he informed the gathering that from August 10, the INDIA bloc will hit the streets in Bihar on the issue. This campaign is likely to conclude on September 1 with a public meeting, to which Mr. Yadav invited all INDIA bloc leaders.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah was the only other leader to speak during the presentation. He urged the Opposition to keep the pressure on the government to restore Statehood for J&K. Mr. Abdullah explained how J&K was not represented in the Rajya Sabha and how vacant seats in State Assembly were yet to be filled. He also urged the Opposition to protest Lt.-Governor Manoj Sinha’s orders to ban books.

After the presentation and dinner, a select group of leaders held a closed-door meeting on the Vice-Presidential election. This meeting was attended by the Congress’s Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Mr. Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, Trinamool Congress leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’ Brien, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s Lok Sabha leader K. Kanimozhi, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Udhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Supriya Sule, and others.

At least one person familiar with the discussion at this meeting said that the Opposition must decide their candidate after waiting to see who the BJP picks. “Since our fight against this government is centred around the campaign to save the Constitution, which has been under assault, our candidate should be someone, whether politician or academic, who embodies this ideological contest,” one of the leaders said.