BJD, AIADMK decide to go with NDA’s Vice President choice

BJP’s vice-presidential candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar’s prospects got a boost on Sunday when two non-NDA regional powerhouses – BJD and AIADMK – officially declared their support for him. The announcement came soon after the BJD called on PM Narendra Modi to call on party chief and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, who was among the first to endorse Draupadi Murmu for the NDA’s presidency.
The AIADMK announced after a meeting of its MLAs in Chennai that it would support both Murmu and Dhankhar. Though Dhankhar was named as the NDA’s VP candidate on Saturday, the BJD was waiting for the opposition to decide on its candidate before taking a call.
The Naveen Patnaik-led BJD, which has already increased its weight behind NDA’s presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu, on Sunday announced the support of its VP candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar. As per Debabrata Mohapatra’s report, the BJD’s decision comes minutes after PM Modi sought support from the Odisha CM. It is to be noted that in 2017 when it supported Ram Nath Kovind of the NDA as President, it supported Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the opposition candidate for the post of VP.