Flanked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and veteran BJP leader LK Advani, former minister M Venkaiah Naidu today filed his nomination papers for the vice presidential election.
BJP president Amit Shah, senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi as well as leaders from BJP allies and those from other regional parties, including the AIADMK and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, accompanied Naidu as he filed his papers in the parliament complex.
The Shiv Sena was also present.
Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and several top leaders of the NDA were among those who proposed and seconded Naidu’s candidature in the several sets of nomination papers filed in his favour.
The BJP’s Parliamentary Board had yesterday picked Naidu as the NDA’s vice presidential nominee.
The senior BJP leader resigned as Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting minister hours before he filed his nomination papers.
The vice presidential election is scheduled to be held on August 5.
Naidu will contest against the opposition’s vice presidential nominee Gopalkrishna Gandhi.