The person who was till now content being Usha-pati (Usha's husband), will become the uprashtrapati (vice president) of India. The veteran politician from Andhra Pradesh, NDA's Venkaiah Naidu, was declared the new vice president after he polled 516 out of the 760 valid votes.
He defeated opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who polled 244 votes.
Now, for the first time, all three top posts in the country will be occupied by BJP leaders. Ram Nath Kovind was sworn in as president last month. Naidu has been vocal about his associations with the RSS. He was a member of the Sangh's student body ABVP.
Naidu will be sworn in on August 10, after which he will move into a spacious bungalow—6 Maulana Azad Road—his new address as the vice president.
After his victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Naidu. “Congratulations to @MVenkaiahNaidu Garu on being elected India’s vice president. My best wishes for a fruitful and motivating tenure. I am confident @MVenkaiahNaidu will serve the nation as a diligent & dedicated vice president, committed to the goal of nation building. My mind is filled with memories of working with @MVenkaiahNaidu Garu, in the party and government. Will cherish this aspect of our association,” Modi said in a series of tweets.
After the results were announced, Gandhi said, “I congratulate him [Naidu]. I wish him all the best and hope he is vice president for all sections of the country. I thank all MPs who voted for me.”
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said Gandhi got more votes than the opposition parties expected.
14 MPs abstained from voting, which included two each from BJP, INC, and IUML; four from Trinamool; one from NCP; one from PMK and two independents. This absenteeism harmed Gandhi's final tally as most opposition MPs supported him.
Two BJP leaders—Sanwarlal Jat and Vijay Goel—are hospitalised and could not vote. From TMC, Kunal Ghosh, Tapas Paul, Pratima Mondal and Abhishek Banerjee were missing, while Mausam Noor and Ranee Narah from Congress did not cast theirs. Other absentee MPs were Udayan Raje Bhonsle from NCP; Ambumani Ramadoss from PMK; Abdul Wahab and P.K. Kunhalikutty from IUML; Anu Agha and Naba Kumar Saraniya, two independent MPs.
Of the 771 votes polled, 11 were found to be invalid. The victory mark was fixed at 381, which Naidu crossed easily as many of the non-NDA parties, especially from the south, pledged their support for him.
Interestingly, Naidu had jokingly remarked several times that he was happy being Usha-pati (Usha's is his wife’s name), and did not want to be either rashtrapati or uprashtrapati. However, he was chosen by PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah to be the vice presidential candidate of the party.
His candidature was seen as an attempt to deliver a message to the southern states, where BJP is trying to consolidate its position. The electorate in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka are the target, as they go to polls in the coming two years.
Though his post will be apolitical as he now ceases to be a member of the BJP, he is likely to hold on to his connection with those states.
Naidu's entry comes at a time when BJP has emerged the single largest party in the Rajya Sabha—it has one member more than the Congress. Sampathiya Uikey became the 58th MP from the BJP, thus giving the saffron party lead over the Congress for the first time.
Naidu's role will be much more operational as he gets to lord over the Rajya Sabha as its chairman. Though BJP is the single largest party, the combined opposition has more numbers. Ten MPs are retiring next month, giving BJP a chance to pick up a few seats.
But the tide will begin to turn by next year when 64 MPs will retire, giving the BJP a chance to send more members to Rajya Sabha, from states like Uttar Pradesh. Nominated members like cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and actress Rekha will complete their uneventful term next year.
With numbers in both houses in its favour, the Modi government is expected to go for much bolder moves in policy or those which need constitutional approval. The government was forced to bring many legislations as money bills to avoid it getting stalled in Rajya Sabha where the opposition had the numbers.
Another key responsibility for Venkaiah will be to oversee the functioning of the Rajya Sabha TV. The channel maintained its autonomous character and was at times seen as critical of the Modi government. This all is likely to change.
