Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi resigns as Union Minister, Vice Presidential candidature?

New Delhi: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has resigned as Union Minister in the Modi government. Naqvi, who is in charge of the minority section, will complete his term in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow. The day before, he had tendered his resignation. After that, information has come to light that his name has been finalized by the BJP for the post of Vice President.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had lauded Naqvi’s contribution in today’s Union Cabinet meeting. Naqvi’s name was dropped from the BJP’s Rajya Sabha candidature list. Union Ministers can only serve for a period of six months when they are not members of any House of Parliament. But even before that, Naqvi’s resignation from the ministry was met with surprise.

Fighting for Vice President?

There was talk that the BJP would field him as a candidate for the Rampur Lok Sabha by-election in Uttar Pradesh, but it did not materialize. Therefore, the possibility of Naqvi being fielded by the BJP for the post of Vice President has increased. As the BJP has sufficient numbers, if Naqvi gets a ticket as the NDA candidate, his weight may be heavier than that of the UPA.

Read also: Another order of Sanjay Raut, MP Bhavana Gawli’s resignation

Who is Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi?
There are few Muslim leaders in the pro-Hindu ideology BJP. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s name appears in the top list. He has served as the Deputy Speaker of the Rajya Sabha. BJP sent him to Rajya Sabha twice. He represented Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha from 2010 to 2016. He was then sent to the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand. The Naqvi are originally from Uttar Pradesh. He is currently 64 years old.

Naqvi was imprisoned during the Emergency. He was 17 years old at the time. He was active in the Janata Party when he was a student. In the 80’s, he contested the Assembly elections on a Janata Party ticket. But it failed. In 1980, he contested the Lok Sabha elections as an independent. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998. He was the Minister of State in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government. He was in charge of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.