PM Modi to address NDA MPs amid VP election buzz and parliament standoff

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a meeting of the NDA MPs on Tuesday amid the parliament logjam and ahead of the impending vice president election.

 

The meeting of the NDA parliamentary party assumes significance as it is being held after a long gap.

 

The BJP has already started its hunt for a candidate for the vice president post after Jagdeep Dhankhar’s surprise resignation on July 21, on the very first day of the monsoon session of the parliament. The filing of nominations will begin on August 7, and the election, if needed, will take place on September 9.

 

The BJP-led NDA has a comfortable edge in the electoral college. In Lok Sabha, it enjoys the support of 293 of the 542 members, while the ruling alliance has the support of 129 members in Rajya Sabha.

 

According to a PTI report, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and a few BJP national general secretaries are likely to be coordinating with allies to find a consensus candidate.

 

The meeting is also likely to discuss the stalemate in parliament, where a united opposition has been targeting the government over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar by the Election Commission.

 

Except for a two-day debate on the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, the session so far has been a washout due to the ceaseless protests by the opposition.

 

At Tuesday’s meeting, the prime minister is also likely to be felicitated by the parliamentary party over his government's military response to the terror strike.

 

Since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP lost its majority but comfortably crossed the halfway mark with allies, the sessional meeting of the party's MPs was expanded to include its allies. PM Modi had addressed the first such meeting on July 2. However, no meeting has been held in the last few sessions.

India