The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    Amarinder Singh likely to be named NDA candidate for Vice President

    Synopsis

    Amarinder Singh is currently in London for a back surgery. However, a close aide of the former Punjab Chief Minister said that no confirmation has been received yet proposing Singh's name as NDA's nominee for the Vice President's post.

    Capt Amarinder Singh's party to merge with BJP, claims Punjab BJP leader Harjit Singh GrewalPTI
    Singh, the scion of the erstwhile Patiala Royal family and a two-time chief minister, had floated the PLC after he quit the Congress following his unceremonious exit as the chief minister last year.
    Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is in the race to become the next Vice President of India.

    Sources said that the NDA is likely to name the fromer Punjab Chief Minister as its candidate for the Vice President's post.

    "Several names are doing the rounds of which the prominent ones are Amarinder Singh, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The vice presidential candidate will be finalised by the top BJP leadership and the Parliamentary Board," said a BJP insider.

    Singh is currently in London for a back surgery. However, a close aide of the former Punjab Chief Minister said that no confirmation has been received yet proposing Singh's name as NDA's nominee for the Vice President's post.

    There is also a buzz in BJP circles that incumbent Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu could be given a second term, but as of now there have been no official deliberations on this.

    Singh left the Congress and formed the Punjab Lok Congress after he was removed from the post of Punjab Chief Minister last year. He contested the recent Punjab Assembly polls in alliance with the BJP.

    The BJP-led NDA candidate is all set to become the next Vice President as the voters are the Members of Parliament and the BJP has a huge mandate in the Lok Sabha while in the Rajya Sabha, it is the single-largest party having more than 90 seats.

    In the last election in 2017, the Opposition had fielded Gopalkrishna Gandhi but he lost to Naidu. Naidu polled 516 votes while Gandhi could manage only 244 votes.

    The Vice Presidential election is scheduled to be held on August 6.


    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
    (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2024 News, Budget 2024 Live Coverage, Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in