VP poll: BJP's experience with Dhankhar may prompt party to go for tried, tested method

New Delhi: As the Election Commission formally set in motion the process of electing the next vice president by appointing a returning officer, the BJP-led alliance is set to start consultation for its pick for the key constitutional position amid indications that the Opposition will also join the fray.

In the electoral college that comprises members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a clear majority as its strength is nearly 425 out of the current total of 782 MPs, making its nominee clear favourite to fill in the position left vacant by the abrupt resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.

While the brain trust of the BJP is yet to begin deliberations, there is a strong view within the party and its allies that the BJP leadership will prioritise organisational rootedness and ideological purity over an excessive focus on experiment that has at times made them look outside their own pool of experienced talent, as was the case with Dhankhar in the 2022 polls.

Having started his political career as a Janata Dal MP in 1991, he later joined the Congress as parties of socialist stock declined and then shifted his allegiance to the BJP where his political activities were nominal.

It was as a senior advocate in the Supreme Court that he caught the attention of the BJP leadership, which led to his appointment as West Bengal Governor in 2019 and then as vice president in 2022 following a tenure that was marked by his frequent run-ins with the government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a key opposition leader.

Dhankhar's streak of outspokenness and unconventional style as vice president did not go down well with Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, and his decision on July 21 to admit an opposition-sponsored notice for a motion to remove Justice Yashwant Varma caused dismay in the ruling alliance. He was to resign hours later.

Several leaders of the BJP and its allies are of the view that the NDA this time is unlikely to follow the instincts that made it pick Dhankhar and will be more conventional in its search for his successor.

While the prevailing view is that the BJP will pick one from its ranks, someone like Harivansh, a JD(U) MP, is also being talked about as a probable for the trust he has built with the government in his nearly five-year term as Rajya Sabha deputy chairman.

The vice president is the ex-officio Chairman of the Upper House, a key position in shaping Parliament's proceedings and thus guiding the government's agenda.

"When the talk is yet to begin even within the party, it is futile to speculate about probables. Though political wisdom suggests that the upheavals brought by Dhankhar will weigh heavily in any future decisin," a BJP leader said.

With assembly polls set to be held in Bihar in October-November and key states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala besides Assam next year, electoral considerations are expected to be a factor as well.

In a statement, the Election Commission (EC) said on Friday that in consultation with the Ministry of Law and Justice and with the consent of the deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha, it has appointed Mody as the returning officer for the vice presidential election, 2025.

The EC has also appointed Garima Jain, Joint Secretary, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, and Vijay Kumar, Director, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, as assistant returning officers during the course of the election.