'It is a crisis of the BJP's own doing. This is an in-house fire.'
"No government, most of all Mr Narendra Modi's, would want the spotlight on such discussions and debates [on the VP's resignation]. It reflects on the government. Mr Modi would not want that kind of stigma because the BJP portrays itself as a seamless orchestra."
One of the country's leading political commentators Rasheed Kidwai discusses Jagdeep Dhankhar's unprecedented resignation as Vice President with Rediff's Archana Masih in the concluding part of the interview.
What electoral calculation will the BJP make to choose the next vice president whose term will extend till 2030 -- and who could even be the next President?
With a majority in both Houses of Parliament, the NDA can get its own candidate elected as vice president. But then, an election always throws up many imponderables.
This has opened a pandora's box in view of the Bihar election in a few months.
No government, most of all Mr Narendra Modi's, would want the spotlight on such discussion, debate and discourse. It reflects on the government.
Mr Modi would not want that kind of stigma because the BJP portrays itself as a seamless orchestra.
What impact will it have on Modi-Shah? Will they ride this out?
It is a political crisis. It depends upon how they handle it and on the choice of the next nominee.
Mr Dhankhar was a political lightweight. He had previously been with the Janata Dal and Congress before joining the BJP in 2008.
He had changed political loyalties like clothes and was not expected to be problematic.
Can he become an embarrassment to the BJP like Satyapal Malik?
No, I don't think so.
Will the RSS have a greater choice in selecting the incumbent?
Perhaps. It will reflect on the compromise reached between the RSS and Mr Modi.
Who do you think could be the likely candidates for VP?
Justice D Y Chandrachud, Harivansh Narayan Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman?
It is actually very difficult to speculate.
The composition of the Rajya Sabha is evenly poised with an edge to the NDA. The quality of leaders in the Rajya Sabha is much better than the Lok Sabha.
Therefore, to my mind, they will require a person with a political flavour.
This is the first political crisis that the BJP has seen in a long time.
It is a crisis of its own doing. It is not as if its alliance partners -- the JD-U or TDP --have withdrawn support.
This is an in-house fire.
Even if we were to accept that poor health was the reason behind the resignation, the question is why did PM or other ministers not go to Mr Dhankhar's house and express concern?
What bearing will this have on the functioning of the Rajya Sabha?
The deputy chairman Mr Harivansh Singh will take charge and there will be a semblance of business as usual.
But actually it won't be business as usual because all eyes will be on what the government says and how it says it.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff