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While Radhakrishnan is a BJP veteran from Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra Governor, Reddy is a former Supreme Court judge who hails from Telangana and is known for key judgements
The vice-presidential poll has been described by the opposition as an “ideological battle”, even as the numbers are stacked in favour of the ruling National Democratic Alliance. (Photos: PTI file)
NDA candidate C P Radhakrishnan is likely to next Vice President of India, with the BJP-NDA having a comfortable majority to defeat joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy in Tuesday’s election.
The vice president poll was necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar after the first day of Parliament’s monsoon session.
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Members of both Houses of Parliament will cast their votes in the Parliament House between 10 AM and 5 PM on Tuesday. Counting votes will begin at 6 PM, and the results will be announced late evening.
Members of Parliament are not bound by party whips to vote in the vice presidential election, which takes place under a secret ballot system.
The BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led opposition grouping held separate meetings with their respective MPs on poll eve to sensitise them about the election process and also held mock polls.
NDA’s Strategy For VP Polls
NDA has divided MPs of its camp into different groups, which meet for breakfast on Tuesday morning before heading together for Parliament.
Top Union Ministers have been tasked with the responsibility of keeping NDA MPs united ahead of the Vice President polls. All MPs from Uttar Pradesh will gather at the residence of Piyush Goyal, while those from the southern states will meet at Prahlad Joshi’s house. Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be in charge of members from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, who will assemble at his residence at 8 am. MPs from Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand will gather at the residence of Manohar Lal Khattar, while lawmakers from Rajasthan will meet at the residence of Arjun Meghwal.
Gujarat MPs will assemble at the residence of Mansukh Mandaviya, while those from Bihar and Jharkhand will gather at the residence of Nityanand Rai at the same time. Maharashtra MPs will meet at the residence of Bhupender Yadav. Similarly, MPs from West Bengal and Odisha will gather at the residence of Dharmendra Pradhan, and those from the North East will assemble at the residence of Kiren Rijiju.
A day before the polling, the BJP has hit out at Sudershan Reddy for Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, a convict in the fodder scam.
“Sudershan Reddy has given a statement that (people) vote for me to save the soul of the nation…He met RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is convicted in the fodder scam…What kind of a Retired Judge of the Supreme Court are you that you are meeting someone who is convicted of a scam?… This is hypocrisy. Please don’t talk about the soul of the nation,” BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
While Radhakrishnan is a BJP veteran from Tamil Nadu and the Governor of Maharashtra, Reddy is a former Supreme Court judge who hails from Telangana and is known for key judgements, including the one declaring Salwa Judum, a group of trained tribal youth deployed as special police officers to take on Naxalites, as illegal and unconstitutional.
The issue of Reddy’s Salwa Judum judgement spiced up the otherwise staid campaign for the vice presidential election, with Home Minister Amit Shah claiming that the 2011 verdict was a setback to the efforts to fight Maoism in Chhattisgarh.
The vice-presidential poll has been described by the opposition as an “ideological battle”, even as the numbers are stacked in favour of the ruling National Democratic Alliance.
“On the basis of voting, it will be clear who stands on which side, who is in favour of the Constitution and who is against it. In the upcoming Vice-Presidential election, we must not forget why this election has been imposed on us. It has been imposed because they decided to cut short the tenure of one Vice-President and elect a new one; this was done by the BJP. YSRCP, BJD, and other so-called neutral parties, whichever side they vote for, it will become clear whether they stand with those opposing the Constitution or with those defending it,” Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said.
While noting that the opposition does not have numbers, DMK MP Kanimozhi said it doesn’t mean that Radhakrishnan’s election goes unchallenged
“Let us wait for the votes to be counted…It is not a delicate situation at all because the citizens have been very clear that this is an ideological fight. It is not about any individual. It is an ideological fight and it is a fight for democracy. So we are not confused,” he said.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Maji appealed to fellow lawmakers to vote for Reddy, citing his credentials as a judge.
“The Vice President is the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. He/she should not be biased… Since no whip was issued for this election, everyone votes according to the voice of their conscience. Therefore, we are appealing to all MPs that if you choose an impartial person for the Vice President post, they will be able to do justice to everyone,” she said.
On the opposition’s mock polls, CPI(M) MP John Brittas said, “We had a mock poll here today. In most elections, there are often 10 to 15 invalid votes. Although we are well-prepared to participate in such a democratic process, we may inadvertently lose our valid votes due to our over-enthusiasm. To avoid that, most opposition MPs converged here and participated in a mock poll.”
CP Radhakrishnan Vs B Sudershan Reddy: Who Will Be India’s 15th VP? The Numbers Explained
How Numbers Stack Up?
The electoral college for the vice presidential election comprises a total of 788 members – 245 from the Rajya Sabha and 543 from the Lok Sabha. The 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha are also eligible to vote in the election. The present strength of the electoral college is 781 as six seats are vacant in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha. This puts the majority mark at 391. The NDA has 425 MPs, while the opposition camp has the backing of 324.
Among the political parties that are not part of the ruling or the opposition camps, the YSRCP, with 11 members in Parliament, has decided to support the NDA nominee, while the BRS and the BJD have decided to abstain from voting in the election.
BRS MP KR Suresh Reddy linked his party’s decision to protest against the farmers’ distress in Telangana.
“After weighing all the options, we have taken a conscious decision to abstain from the election. Our party leadership has been insisting that Telangana farmers are currently in a state of crisis due to a shortage of fertiliser, particularly urea. We repeatedly requested the Government of India. We requested the state government, but both governments have failed to address the farmers’ issue…This is the way we register our protest against the farmers’ distress in Telangana,” he said.
(with inputs from PTI)
About the Author
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter –twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter –twitter.com/saurabhkverma19
September 08, 2025, 18:17 IST
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