NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh attempted Monday to garner broader support for NDA vice-presidential candidate C P Radhakrishnan, speaking to Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin over the phone, and to former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik (BJD), to seek their support for a consensus.Singh also called up former Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy whose YSRCP, with 11 MPs, has pledged to back the NDA candidate.He had earlier, it is understood, reached out to Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee (TMC).In Mumbai, CM Devendra Fadnavis appealed to state “regional parties, in particular Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s NCP”, to vote for Radhakrishnan. Shiv Sena has six LS MPs and the NCP (SP) group has 10. Both parties are part of INDIA bloc. “Not only is he governor of Maharashtra, he is also a voter from the state. He may originally be from Tamil Nadu but he is a voter from Mumbai and has voted in the last assembly election. While filing his nomination he will be mentioning that he is a voter from Mumbai,” said Fadnavis, asking “Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar, for whom Marathi asmita is important, to forget party differences” on this issue.Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, meanwhile, said while the party welcomed Radhakrishnan’s nomination since he was Maharashtra governor, it would go by the INDIA bloc’s collective decision. However, Raut pointed out that his party chief, Uddhav Thackeray, was of the view that such constitutional posts should not be politicised and any nominee should be elected unopposed. Since the INDIA bloc doesn’t have the numbers to win the VP polls, Raut said, attention shouldn’t be diverted from core issues like ‘vote chori’, voter list manipulation and SIR in Bihar by having a contest in VP polls. He indicated that a contest for VP may not be worth the fight.C P Radhakrishnan, who is Maharashtra’s governor, called on PM Modi and other BJP functionaries Monday, ahead of his interaction with NDA floor leaders later in the day. A day after his candidacy was announced, Radhakrishnan arrived in Delhi and was received by Union ministers Pralhad Joshi & Kiren Rijiju.In a post on X, PM Modi wrote, “Met Thiru CP Radhakrishnan ji. Conveyed my best wishes on his being the NDA’s VP nominee. His long years of public service and experience across domains will greatly enrich our nation. May he continue to serve with the same dedication and resolve he has always demonstrated (sic).”Later that day, Radhakrishnan, whose election is considered a formality due to NDA’s majority, was felicitated by NDA floor leaders at the residence of Pralhad Joshi, where he will stay until the poll. He is also expected to attend the NDA Parliamentary Party meeting on Tuesday.Radhakrishnan is likely to file his nomination papers Wednesday in the presence of top NDA leaders, including CMs from states governed by the alliance. BJP congratulated Radhakrishnan on his nomination and thanked PM Modi for selecting a candidate from the OBC category.The Vice-Presidential election is scheduled for Sept 9.Bihar CM Nitish Kumar welcomed BJP’s decision and said JD(U) would support Radhakrishnan. TDP’s Nara Lokesh also extended his party’s support to Radhakrishnan.
