Telugu states expect Venkaiah to be an effective VP

Hailed as a “future President” by his supporters and admirers back home in Andhra Pradesh, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Vice-Presidential candidate Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu will not only be an able deputy to President Ram Nath Kovind, but also be a very active Constitutional functionary as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Given the arithmetic in both Houses of Parliament, Venkaiah Naidu is all set to be elected as the next Vice President of India on 5 August. From Andhra Pradesh, he will bag all the 25 Lok Sabha MP-votes (18 from TDP and BJP and seven from YSR Congress) and seven out of 11 Rajya Sabha MP-votes.

In Telangana, Naidu will get 15 out of the total 17 Lok Sabha MP-votes and five out of 11 Rajya Sabha MP-votes. His opponent, Gopal Krishna Gandhi will get just one Lok Sabha and two Rajya Sabha MP-votes from Telangana and only four Rajya Sabha MP-votes from Andhra Pradesh, thus rendering the contest onesided, in favour of Naidu.

Naidu, whose four-decade old political career was marked by a fight against the Emergency in 1975 and was shaped by the RSS’ students’ wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and BJP, may not be available to play a political role, but sources close to him told The Sunday Guardian that he would continue to be “very active as a public figure” through his post of Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MPs M. Murali Mohan and N. Siva Prasad hoped that Venkaiah Naidu would become the President one day. The MPs who called on Naidu after he filed his nomination for the VP election in New Delhi are, however, hopeful that he would play an active public role.

“He may have left state politics, but he assured us (TDP MPs) that he would be available there for us to safeguard our interests as the Chairman of the Council of States, that is the Rajya Sabha,” said a TDP Rajya Sabha member, preferring anonymity. As Rajya Sabha Chairman, he can exert pressure on the government to protect the interests of the states, the MP added.

The MPs who called on Venkaiah Naidu, shared their views with this newspaper that “he would be a dynamic Vice President” both as a Deputy to the President and as the Chairman of the Upper House. As Parliamentary Affairs Minister and a four-time RS MP, Venkaiah Naidu enjoys a greater rapport with leaders of all major political parties in the country, they said.

In fact, Venkaiah Naidu was a prime force behind the pre- poll alliance between TDP and BJP in both AP and Telangana in 2014. He ironed out all the differences that surfaced during seat adjustments and ensured that the alliance won comfortably. He played a role in wooing film star and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan to campaign for the BJP in the elections.

Venkaiah Naidu was in-