INDIA bloc to announce VP candidate today, DMK will support: KC Venugopal

New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 18 (IANS) The INDIA bloc will announce its Vice Presidential candidate later on Monday, confirmed Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal.

He added that consultations with alliance partners are ongoing and a collective decision will be made soon.

“The Congress alone will not take a decision. We are meeting all our partners, and then our decision will come. The DMK has already made its position clear. By Monday evening, everything will be final,” Venugopal told reporters.

The statement comes a day after the BJP-led NDA named Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan as its Vice Presidential nominee.

His candidature is expected to further strengthen the BJP’s push into South India.

Radhakrishnan, born in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, in 1957, began his political journey with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and later joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in the 1970s.

He went on to hold several positions in the BJP, including serving as president of the party’s Tamil Nadu unit between 2004 and 2007.

A two-time Member of Parliament from Coimbatore, elected in 1998 and 1999, Radhakrishnan is known for his focus on industrial development, infrastructure and education.

He is also considered close to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, whom he visited earlier this month to enquire about his health.

Political observers say his candidature signals the BJP’s intent to expand its influence in Tamil Nadu and the wider southern region.

Meanwhile, Venugopal, Congress MP from Kerala and a close aide of the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, stressed that the INDIA bloc would present a united front.

The DMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, has already pledged support to the alliance’s nominee.

With the NDA having formalised its choice and the INDIA bloc expected to follow suit by evening, the stage is set for a high-stakes Vice Presidential election, one that could influence the balance of power in the Rajya Sabha and shape the BJP’s outreach strategy in the South.

–IANS

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