New Delhi: NDA Vice Presidential candidate and former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar filed his nomination here on Monday.
Dhankhar, who was accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda among others, filed his nomination papers before Returning Officer and Lok Sabha Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh at Parliament House.
Jagdeep Dhankhar will contest against Opposition candidate Margaret Alva in the August 6 poll for the Vice President post.
The term of the current Vice-President, M Venkaiah Naidu, ends on August 10. Naidu, a former BJP president and union minister, had won assumed office in 2017.
The BJP surprised many political pundits on Saturday when the party chose Jagdeep Dhankhar as their Vice Presidential candidate.
Dhankhar resigned as governor on Sunday to run for Vice-President, who is also the chairperson of the Rajya Sabha by default.
Earlier in the day, Dhankhar met MPs from different parties supporting his bid.
Three years ago, he was appointed Governor of West Bengal, where he had frequent loggerheads with the Mamata Banerjee government.
Former Union minister and former Governor Margaret Alva, the Opposition's candidate for Vice Presidential polls, will file her nomination papers on Tuesday.
Tomorrow, Margaret Alva will file her nomination papers," Congress MP Abdul Khaleque told reporters here on Monday.
Khaleque urged all the MPs to extend their support to her.
Margaret Alva, has served as governor of several states. A five-time MP, she was a minister in Rajiv Gandhi's government.
Alva has served as the Governor of Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. A former Rajya Sabha member, she also served as the Vice Chairman of the Rajya Sabha from 1983-85.
Alva was earlier a senior figure in the Congress and a Joint Secretary of the All India Congress Committee.
With considerable presence of Jats in Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, the decision to nominate Jagdeep Dhankhar for Vice President may tilt BJP's fortunes in Jatlands of these states in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mission 2024.
In the event of the election being contested, the polling will take place on the 6th August, 2022 between 10 am and 5 pm.
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