Ahead of V-P vote, BJP holds drill for party MPs

With the vice-presidential election just days away, the BJP organised a two-day workshop on Sunday for all its MPs from both Houses of Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the workshop and was seated among other lawmakers in the last row.

The workshop, which started on Sunday, is aimed at sensitising lawmakers about the voting procedure and other key aspects they need to follow while casting their votes, particularly for the first-time MPs in the party’s fold.

The election will take place on September 9 at Parliament House. MPs from both Houses, currently totalling 732, form the electoral college for the election, which will be conducted via ballot paper. The Congress will also conduct a mock poll drill for its MPs in the national capital on September 8.

During the event, BJP MPs felicitated PM Modi for the GST reforms, said sources. The first day of the workshop focused on two main themes: “Towards a Developed India by 2027” and the “effective use of social media by MPs.”

The MPs were divided into different committees to discuss a range of topics, including agriculture, defence, energy, education, railways and transport. The workshop also covered preparations for the upcoming parliamentary session, parliamentary procedures, subordinate legislation and time management in the House.

The second day of the workshop will focus on training MPs specifically for the September 9 election.

The election features a direct contest between the NDA candidate, Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan and the INDIA bloc’s nominee, retired Supreme Court judge B Sudarshan Reddy. Both candidates are from the Southern -- Radhakrishnan from Tamil Nadu and Reddy from Telangana.

Radhakrishnan, 67, is a two-term former Lok Sabha MP from Coimbatore during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure and later led the BJP in Tamil Nadu. Reddy, 79, who retired from the Supreme Court in July 2011, is known for several landmark judgments, including one criticising the Centre for its “slackness” in probing black money cases and another declaring the Chhattisgarh Government’s Salwa Judum as unconstitutional.

The poll has been described by the Opposition as an ideological battle even as the numbers are stacked in favour of the ruling NDA.