Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi resigns, likely to run For Vice Presidential post;

New Delhi: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi quit as Union Minister of Minority Affairs on Wednesday amid buzz that he may run for Vice President of India. The Union Minister resigned from the Union cabinet a day before the completion of his Rajya Sabha term.

President Ram Nath Kovind as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accepted the resignations of Naqvi with immediate effect and directed that Union minister Smriti Irani be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, in addition to her existing portfolio.

Naqvi's Rajya Sabha term ends tomorrow and the BJP did not name him for another term during recent elections.

On the



other hand, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu’s term ends on August 10 and according to the Election Commission, the last date for nominations for Vice President is July 19. The scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on July 20, and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is July 22. The elections for the Vice President will be held on August 6 while the next Vice President will take oath on August 11.

Apart from Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, former Union Minister Najma Heptulla and former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh are in the fray for the Vice President post.