BSP chief Mayawati declares support for NDA’s V-P candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar

Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Wednesday declared support for NDA’s vice-presidential candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar “in view of larger public interest”.

“It is well known that due to the lack of consensus between the government and the opposition in the election for the post of the the president, the country’s highest post, the election for it was finally held. Now, due to the same situation, the election for the post of Vice-President is also going to be held on 6th August,” Mayawati tweeted in Hindi.

She added, “In view of the larger public interest and its own movement, the BSP has decided to extend its support to Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar in the election for the post of Vice President, which I am also formally announcing today.”

The opposition has fielded former Union minister Margaret Alva as its vice-presidential candidate against Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Mayawati had earlier backed Droupadi Murmu in the presidential election, alleging that the opposition ignored her party while choosing Yashwant Sinha as its nominee. She had insisted that her decision to support Murmu was politically neutral and was neither in support of the BJP or the NDA.

“We have decided to support the NDA candidate for the Presidential polls Droupadi Murmu and this decision has been taken keeping our party and movement in mind,” she had said at a press briefing.

“This decision is neither in support of the BJP or the NDA nor is it against the opposition,” she said while reiterating that the decision was based on her “party and movement”.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) are among the opposition parties who supported Murmu’s candidature but extended support to Margaret Alva for vice-presidential election. The Trinamool Congress, in a surprise move, has decided to abstain from voting in vice-presidential elections.