Vice-President polls: NDA announces candidate, picks Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan | India News

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata party on Sunday announced Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan as National Democratic Alliance’s candidate for the upcoming Vice-President election, scheduled for September 9.Radhakrishnan’ s name was finalised in BJP’s Parliamentary Board meeting at the party headquarters.“We want next vice president to be elected unanimously, we have reached out to opposition leaders,” Nadda said as he announced Radhakrishnan name.“CP Radhakrishnan considered a statesman, commands respect in all sections of society in Tamil Nadu,” he added.NDA had authorised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party BJP president JP Nadda to finalise the alliance candidate.This comes after the abrupt resignation of former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21. Dhankhar quit during the ongoing Parliament session, citing health reasons, though the opposition claimed it was because of differences with the government.The NDA, with its majority in the electoral college comprising Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members, is poised for an easy victory if the election is contested. The opposition INDIA bloc may field a candidate, with discussions slated for August 18.Meanwhile, all NDA chief ministers and deputy chief ministers have been summoned to Delhi on August 21 for the nomination filing.