Cong open to other parties’ V-P choice

NEW DELHI: The Congress could support a vice-presidential candidate suggested by fellow opposition parties, a move to help fix fault lines within the non-NDA camp over its nominee for the President’s post.

The main opposition party fielded former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar for the presidential polls against the ruling BJP-led NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind, who was governor of Bihar.

But the Congress couldn’t name its candidate before the BJP and the delay divided the opposition camp, with Bihar chief minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar supporting Kovind. The party’s relations with Kumar worsened since, though they are part of the coalition that rules Bihar. The CM also accused the Congress of scuttling efforts to unite opposition parties to take on the BJP in Assam and UP polls.

The controversy prompted the Congress to speed up the consultation process for the vice-presidential nominee. Party leaders will soon begin discussions with fellow opposition parties for consensus on a common candidate for the country’s second top constitutional post. To ensure a strong and united non-NDA camp, a Congress strategist did not rule out the possibility of his party supporting a candidate suggested by other parties.

The situation aggravated after senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s alleged swipe at the chief minister for not supporting Meira Kumar, who is a native of Bihar. At an Iftar hosted by the Congress in Patna on June 21, Azad’s remarks that “people who have one principle make one decision, but those who believe in many principles make different decisions” were interpreted as a direct attack on the CM. Kumar quoted late Ram Manohar Lohia in his response and called Congress “Sarkari Gandhivadi (bureaucratic Gandhian)”.