Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Venkaiah Naidu versus Gopal Krishna Gandhi for VP’s post' that was published in Newsband

Venkaiah Naidu versus Gopal Krishna Gandhi for VP’s post

Venkaiah Naidu, Vice Presidential Candidate of NDA, quit BJP and Government. He was in charge of Urban Affairs and Information and Broadcasting. He completed the formalities for joining the vice presidential contest. Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi is the nomination of the opposition party.

The government estimates that its candidate has the votes of around 550 MPs in the electoral college of 787 MPs, and can easily win. Naidu as candidate falls in neatly with the party's big plans for expanding its base in the south, especially Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Naidu's nomination marks the return of a politician to the post, which ranks above the Prime Minister.

Naidu has been a champion of what is otherwise seen as a ‘North Indian’ party. That rare South Indian to support the cause of Hindi. He has been a two-time MLA of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, a four-time member of the Rajya Sabha, and has held several important portfolios in government. His long association with the RSS and the Sangh Parivar may also have been an important consideration.

He has been a vocal supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even going so far as to say that ‘Modi’ stood for ‘Making of Developed India’. As the spokesperson of his party, he was found to be a non-confrontational person with the management abilities and political acumen. He is known for his alliterations, witticisms and quips.

M Venkaiah Naidu will take on Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and the Opposition’s candidate, in the election on August 5. Naidu’s career started with student politics in 1971.

In the beginning Naidu was reluctant to contest for Vice Presidential election. He wanted to be an “active politician” till his end. He felt that becoming vice-president would be the end of his political career. He wanted to remain the voice of Prime Minister Modi and play a key role in making his ‘dream India’ a reality.

But both the Prime Minister and Shah wanted an experienced man of stature with flexibility and pragmatism to conduct the House smoothly. The BJP also wants to discard its image as a North Indian party. Hence they felt Naidu was the right choice.