Hyderabad: Dr. K. Laxman, a senior BJP leader from Telangana and a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh, is under serious consideration as a candidate from the NDA camp. His position as the National President of the BJP OBC Morcha, combined with his role as a member of the parliamentary board that oversees the party’s internal electoral process, underscores his significance in the political landscape. He has consistently advocated for backwards classes and has been a vocal critic of the opposition Congress and its policies, making him a strategically important political choice. This consideration comes amid the ongoing conflict between the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA bloc over the BC caste census.

The election for the Vice-President has become more competitive following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s return from his foreign tours to the UK and the Maldives. The party is actively searching for a suitable candidate who can effectively lead the Rajya Sabha and has finalised a list of probable candidates. However, it was shared with the RSS, its ideological fountainhead, and so far, the candidates have not been finalised, said party sources.

The election for India’s second-highest constitutional post has been set in motion by the Election Commission of India (ECI), which has appointed Rajya Sabha Secretary General P.C. Mody as the Returning Officer. Garima Jain and Vijay Kumar have been named as Assistant Returning Officers, signalling the formal commencement of the electoral process.

According to party sources, Dr. K. Laxman, a first-time Rajya Sabha MP from a backwards class background, is one of several candidates under consideration. Others include Union Minister of State for Agriculture Ram Nath Thakur, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh, the BJP’s outgoing national president and Union Health Minister JP Nadda, Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, and Tiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who is also speculated as a potential candidate.

A senior BJP leader pointed out that the Vice-President candidate needs 394 votes to win the election, with the effective strength of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha totalling 786. Currently, the BJP-NDA has 422 votes compared to the INDIA bloc’s 312 votes. Making the BJP-led NDA candidate comfortably win the election. However, the party weighing to send a message against the backdrop of the sudden resignation of the former Vice-President Dhankar created quite a stir within the NDA and outside of political circles, turning it into a political tool for the opposition to take on the ruling party dispensation.

However, with the NDA’s dominance in Parliament and strategic candidate selection underway, the Vice Presidential election is poised to reinforce the BJP’s institutional hold. The official schedule is expected imminently, setting the stage for a high-stakes constitutional contest.