NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday launched a scathing attack against opposition’s vice-presidential nominee Sudarshan Reddy for meeting Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad, who is convicted in fodder scam case.During a press conference, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the former Supreme Court judge of “hypocrisy” for meeting a convict while also claiming to “save the soul of the nation.””Retired Judge of the Supreme Court Sudershan Reddy is the opposition’s candidate for the post of Vice-President. Sudershan Reddy has given a statement that vote for me to save the soul of the nation,” Prasad said.”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,” he added.Earlier in the day, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya termed Sudarshan’s meet with Lalu as “terrible optics.””B Sudarshan Reddy, former Supreme Court judge and INDI Alliance’s joint candidate, recently met fodder scam convict Lalu Prasad, who isn’t even a Member of Parliament and has no vote in the VP electoral college,” Malviya wrote on X. “This isn’t just terrible optics, it’s a shocking statement on probity in public life by someone aspiring for a high constitutional office. What’s even more telling is the silence of the “usual suspects” — retired judges and self-proclaimed custodians of constitutional morality. Their hypocrisy stands exposed,” he added.This comes a day before the vice-presidential elections. The opposition has fielded B Sudarshan while NDA National Democratic Alliance announced Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan as its nominee.How the numbers stack upThe vice president is elected by members of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members of the Upper House.Currently, the NDA holds a comfortable edge. The combined strength of the two Houses stands at 786, factoring in six vacancies—one in the Lok Sabha (Basirhat, West Bengal) and five in the Rajya Sabha (four from Jammu and Kashmir and one from Punjab, where AAP MP Sanjeev Arora stepped down after winning a state assembly bypoll last month).To win, a candidate must secure at least 394 votes, assuming full turnout. The BJP-led NDA is well positioned. It commands the support of 293 MPs in the 542-member Lok Sabha and 129 MPs in the Rajya Sabha (effective strength: 240), including likely backing from nominated members.This gives the ruling alliance a projected total of 422 votes—well above the required majority. However, if a few NDA members rebel and vote for the INDIA bloc candidate, the balance may shift.Under Article 68(2) of the Constitution, an election to fill a vacancy in the office of the vice president due to resignation, death, removal, or otherwise must be held “as soon as possible.”The person elected will serve a full five-year term from the date of assuming office. The vice-presidential election follows the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote and is conducted via secret ballot, as laid down in Article 66(1). Electors rank candidates in order of preference.The vice president is the second-highest constitutional authority in India and also serves as ex-officio chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.
