BJP picks Venkaiah Naidu to counter Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi for vice president

Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu is likely to become the country’s next vice president, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party announcing his candidature on Monday.

Naidu’s victory seems to be a foregone conclusion as he has a clear lead over Opposition nominee Gopalkrishna Gandhi in an electoral college consisting of 790 parliamentarians.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s combined strength in the two Houses of Parliament is about 410. The coalition also expects other parties such as the AIADMK, Naveen Patnaik’s BJD and others to support Naidu in the August 5 election.

“Venkaiah ji has a lot of experience. All NDA allies have welcomed this decision,” BJP president Amit Shah said after making the announcement at a press conference.