The stage is set for a direct contest between National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee C P Radhakrishnan and opposition-backed candidate B Sudershan Reddy in Tuesday’s vice-presidential election, held following the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar. Voting will take place in Parliament House between 10 AM and 5 PM, with counting scheduled to begin at 6 PM. The outcome is expected by late evening.
According to parliamentary procedure, the election is conducted by secret ballot and Members of Parliament are not bound by whips.
Electoral Arithmetic Favouring NDA
The electoral college consists of 788 members—245 from the Rajya Sabha and 543 from the Lok Sabha, including 12 nominated Rajya Sabha members. With current vacancies, the total strength stands at 781, making the majority mark 391. Among the MPs not aligned to either bloc, the YSR Congress Party has pledged support to Radhakrishnan, while AIMIM’s sole MP Asaduddin Owaisi has backed Reddy. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have announced they will abstain.
The NDA, with 436 MPs in its fold including support from the YSR Congress Party, enjoys a comfortable edge over the opposition bloc, which commands the backing of 324 members. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) together holding 12 MPs, have announced they will abstain.
PM Modi Will Be First To Vote
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first to cast his vote on Tuesday, according to ANI sources. He will exercise his franchise along with MPs from Punjab and Haryana.
Union ministers Kiren Rijiju, Ram Mohan Naidu, and Shrikant Shinde have been appointed as election agents for the NDA nominee. For the opposition, MPs Syed Naseer Hussain, Manickam Tagore, and Shatabdi Roy will serve as polling agents, while Shakti Singh Gohil and Manickam Tagore will oversee counting for B Sudershan Reddy, ANI reported.
The Candidates: A Veteran Politician vs. A Retired Judge
Radhakrishnan (67), a BJP stalwart from Tamil Nadu, currently serves as Governor of Maharashtra. He has earlier been a two-term Lok Sabha MP from Coimbatore during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure and later headed the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit. The NDA has projected him as “an untainted leader with rich political and administrative experience” who could guide the Rajya Sabha effectively as its chairman.
On the other side is Reddy (79), a former Supreme Court judge from Telangana, known for a series of landmark judgements. Among them was the 2011 verdict declaring the Salwa Judum, a state-backed militia against Maoists in Chhattisgarh, as illegal and unconstitutional. That ruling has once again come under spotlight, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah calling it “a setback” to anti-Maoist operations.
According to PTI, Reddy, who also headed the special investigation team probing black money abroad, appealed to MPs in a video message, saying: “This is not just a vote to elect their Vice-President but is a vote for the spirit of India itself.”
He urged MPs to look beyond party affiliations, asserting that supporting him would ensure the Rajya Sabha remains a “true temple of democracy”.
Vice President Election: Campaign Trail, Political Jibes
Since filing nominations on August 20, Radhakrishnan has been meeting MPs from various states in small groups seeking their support, while Reddy has toured across the country rallying opposition leaders.
The BJP, however, attacked Reddy for his meeting with RJD founder Lalu Prasad, questioning why the opposition candidate chose to engage with a leader convicted in a scam.
Meanwhile, the Congress-led INDIA bloc has presented Reddy as a “consistent and courageous champion of social, economic and political justice”. His career spans from serving as a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, to Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, and finally as a Supreme Court judge. He also chaired the committee responsible for the caste survey in Telangana.
Poll Preparations, Party Meetings
Ahead of the election, both the NDA and the Congress-led INDIA bloc held meetings with their MPs to brief them on the voting process and ensure awareness about proper ballot procedures. Mock polling sessions were conducted to familiarise parliamentarians with the correct way to mark their votes. Opposition MPs were specifically advised to mark only a single preference on their ballots, with second preference votes being counted only in the event of a tie.
Key leaders attending the briefing included Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party leader Sonia Gandhi, NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar, DMK leader T R Baalu, and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.
The opposition has framed the poll as an ideological contest, encouraging MPs to consider the larger democratic principles at stake while exercising their vote.
On the other hand, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju expressed confidence that most unaligned MPs would vote for Radhakrishnan, describing him as a “nationalist and a very good person”, PTI reported.
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