BJP’s Vice-Presidential candidate M Venkaiah Naidu turned emotional at the prospect of quitting the party to contest for the Constitutional post, the nomination for which he filed on Tuesday.
Venkaiah had reportedly cried and had to be consoled by his colleagues on Monday evening, when the BJP parliamentary board decided to field him as the V-P candidate. Later, describing his emotions, the former Union Minister said the party had been “like his mother” from an early age and that he would have liked to be part of the team that would ensure Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-election in 2019.
Venkaiah rejected reports that he had been pushed to resign and accept the BJP’s decision to be its V-P candidate.
“I had already made up my mind. I told my colleagues that I want to see Modi come back again in 2019 and then I will call it off and join social service...but destiny decided otherwise. I have agreed with whatever decision was taken after discussions,” Venkaiah added.
Having been “brought up” by the BJP after losing his mother at a very young age, Venkaiah said it was “very painful” to leave the organisation that he treated like his mother.
The Vice-President is elected by an Electoral College comprising members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation and a single transferable vote. Of the 790 members of the Electoral College, 245 are MPs of the Rajya Sabha, including the 12 nominated MPs, and 543 from the Lok Sabha.
The BJP estimates over 500 MPs to vote for Venkaiah, giving him close to two-thirds majority. Counting of votes will be taken up on August 5.
He said he enjoyed working among the people and in the party. “The office of Vice-President has a different profile. It has different norms of functions...I hope I will be able to do justice,” Venkaiah said, terming his nomination an “honour” for which he thanked the party leadership.
At a press conference soon after he filed his nomination, Venkaiah expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, as he played down reports that he was not very keen for the new responsibility.
“The office of the vice president has been held by the illustrious people like Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Zakir Hussain, M Hidayatullah, R Venkataraman, Shanker Dayal Sharma and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. I am fully aware of the august responsibilities associated with the office. I would like to assure the people of the country that, on being elected, I will uphold the traditions and standards set by the worthy predecessors,” he told reporters.