INDIA bloc to name VP candidate on Tuesday

INDIA bloc leaders

NEW DELHI: The opposition INDIA bloc will announce its candidate for vice-presidential election Tuesday, after discussions Monday resulted in an exchange of ideas, and the names of a senior scientist from Tamil Nadu and a Dalit intellectual ranking among the probables. The bloc will meet again to finalise the name.Sources said former Isro scientist Mylswamy Annadurai’s name has been forwarded by DMK. At the same time, Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, is said to be a contender, as is a Dalit intellectual who has held important govt positions — the latter triggering speculation about former speaker Meira Kumar and former Planning Commission chairman Bhalchandra Mungekar.An eminent name from undivided Andhra Pradesh is also in the reckoning, sources said. The name of Annadurai is seen in the context of governing BJP-led NDA, which is set to win the poll, having announced Maharashtra governor with Tamil Nadu roots CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate. The idea of pushing a Tamil candidate from opposition camp is seen as an attempt to deny BJP any bragging rights in the southern state. Moreover, fielding a scientist is expected to revive memories of the selection, and eventual election, of “missile man” APJ Abdul Kalam, a Tamil, as the President. Sources said TMC is said to have pushed for a Dalit candidate. At the INDIA bloc meeting at the residence of Mallikarjun Kharge, names and ideas were said to have been discussed. The bloc decided to meet again Tuesday afternoon, after which candidate would be announced. Sources said Kharge was speaking to allies again late in the evening to evolve a consensus.With the outcome of VP polls seen as a foregone conclusion, INDIA bloc, which had not paid much attention to the issue in view of its preoccupation with “voter fraud” protests and Rahul’s Bihar yatra, faced some challenge in bringing all parties on the same page of forcing a contest. Two allies were said to be lukewarm to the idea even as they committed to follow the common position. What finally seems to have turned the tide in favour of a contest was the hammering of the point that CPR should not be seen from lens of Tamil Nadu, but through the perspective of his RSS roots. Congress MP Manickam Tagore, AICC office-bearer Udit Raj and some others highlighted the issue after BJP’s announcement on Sunday evening. The reluctance of some parties in favour of a contest may be rooted in their concern about what may happen in the voting. Some like Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) would be vulnerable to governing camp’s attempts to engineer cross voting, while any defection from RJD may trigger a negative headline in the runup to Bihar polls, sources said.