The stage is set for the Vice Presidential contest today, with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) expressing confidence in its candidate CP Radhakrishnan’s victory and the opposition INDIA bloc rallying in support of its pick Justice B Sudershan Reddy.
The election, in which Parliamentarians will vote between 10 AM and 5 PM, will elect India’s 15th Vice President. Jagdeep Dhankhar‘s sudden resignation in July, citing health reasons, necessitated the election.
Although the numbers favour the NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan over Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, the battle of ballots will test the unity of both the ruling alliance and the Opposition bloc.
Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and K Chandrasekhara Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have decided to abstain from the election. This means the margin of victory will come down. The BJD has seven MPs and the BRS four.
The election will be tighter than in 2022 because the opposition has more MPs than before, with a better performance in the Lok Sabha election 2024.
Even if 100 per cent of opposition MPs vote, and do so for Justice Reddy, the INDIA bloc candidate, he will still fall between 100 and 135 votes short. So, the election is purely symbolic.
How do numbers stack up in Parliament?
Members of both Houses of Parliament will cast their votes in the Parliament House. Counting votes will begin at 6 PM, and the results will be announced late evening.
The present strength of the electoral college is 781, as six seats are vacant in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha. Eleven members from the BRS and the BJD are abstaining, putting the majority mark at 386 in the 770-member strong house. Any of the two candidates who get at least 386 votes will be the next Vice President of India.
As things stand, the NDA has 429 MPs supporting Radhakrishnan, while the INDIA bloc’s Reddy has the support of 324 MPs.
Both the BJP-led NDA and opposition parties held mock polls ahead of the crucial day, telling the MPs to exercise caution in exercising their franchise lest their vote be invalidated.
Immense enthusiasm for NDA pick worldwide: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that CP Radhakrishnan’s candidature has generated immense enthusiasm worldwide, and people believe he will be an excellent Vice President.
“Participated in the NDA meeting in Delhi, attended by MPs across the NDA family. The candidature of Thiru CP Radhakrishnan has generated immense enthusiasm all across. People believe that he will be an excellent Vice President, who will enrich the office with his wisdom and insights,” he said in a post on X.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday expressed confidence that NDA’s Vice Presidential candidate CP Radhakrishnan will get more votes than the strength of the ruling alliance, saying many MPs are thinking of voting for him in the election on Tuesday.
“There will be secret voting. CP Radhakrishnanji will get more support from the MPs than the votes from the NDA. Many MPs are thinking of voting for Radhakrishnan ji, and it is in the national interest that a very good person with nationalist ideology becomes the Vice President of our country,” Rijiju said.
INDIA bloc held a mock drill to reduce the risk of invalid ballots.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai said all important issues were considered for the Vice Presidential election. “The entire opposition is united. A mock poll was conducted for the Vice Presidential election.. even small details were explained so that no mistake happens,” he told ANI later.
A BJP leader said that the NDA candidate is expected to garner at least 427 votes. Congress leaders expressed confidence that the opposition candidate will get over 324 votes, news agencies reported.
Constitution vs RSS: INDIA bloc
The Opposition calls the election a battle between the Constitution and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The BJP, however, continued to attack Reddy. A day before the polls, the BJP attacked Reddy for seeking support from former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad Yadav, who was convicted for his role in financial irregularities and corruption in the state’s animal husbandry department when he was the chief minister.
Lalu Prasad is not a member of either house of Parliament.
“What kind of a Retired Judge of the Supreme Court are you that you are meeting someone who is convicted of a scam? And Lalu Prasad is not even a voter and not a member of parliament, so why are you talking about praising the soul of the nation? This is hypocrisy! Please don’t talk about the soul of the nation,” BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Monday.
Participated in the NDA meeting in Delhi, attended by MPs across the NDA family. The candidature of Thiru CP Radhakrishnan has generated immense enthusiasm all across.
Earlier, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Reddy’s 2011 Salwa Judum judgment came in the way of the fight against left-wing extremism.
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