While the numbers seem to be stacked in favour of the ruling BJP-led NDA in the Vice-Presidential election scheduled for Tuesday, in which the NDA’s candidate C P Radhakrishnan is pitted against the Opposition INDIA alliance’s nominee Justice (retired) P Sudershan Reddy, the decision of the BJD and the BRS to abstain from voting may further boost Radhakrishnan’s prospects.
Both the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD and the K Chandrashekar Rao-headed BRS, which are not part of the NDA or the INDIA bloc, announced Monday that their MPs will abstain from voting in the high-profile election.
While Radhakrishnan is the Maharashtra Governor, Justice Sudershan Reddy is a former Supreme Court judge. The election to the Vice-President’s post was necessitated by the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on the opening day of Parliament’s monsoon session on July 21, when he suddenly quit citing health concerns.
Speaking to The Indian Express, BJD MP Sasmit Patra said that the party has decided to abstain from voting in the V-P poll. “The Biju Janata Dal remains equidistant from both the NDA and INDIA alliances. We are focused on the development and welfare of Odisha and 4.5 crore people of Odisha. The decision was taken by the party leadership during a meeting of its Political Affairs Committee (PAC) in the presence of party chief Naveen Patnaik.”
The BJD currently has seven Rajya Sabha members, and none in the Lok Sabha. In the 2022 V-P poll, the BJD, which was then ruling Odisha, had supported NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar, who had edged out Opposition nominee Margaret Alva comfortably. The BJD was ousted from power by the BJP in the 2024 polls.
BRS MP K R Suresh Reddy told The Indian Express that the party will abstain from the V-P poll. “Our priority is the farmers of Telangana. Both the camps have not been able to assure us of any help on the issue of shortage of urea in the state. Both camps have failed to address this issue, and hence we will stay away from Tuesday voting,” he said, adding that the BRS could have exercised the NOTA option had it been available in the V-P poll.
The BRS currently has four members in the Rajya Sabha and none in the Lok Sabha.
Another non-NDA, non-INDIA player, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) would however back Radhakrishnan. Led by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the YSRCP has seven Rajya Sabha members and four Lok Sabha MPs.
How numbers are stacked up?
The electoral college for the V-P election currently comprises 781 MPs – 239 members of the Rajya Sabha and 542 members of the Lok Sabha. The numbers clearly appear to be tilted in favour of the NDA, with 425 MPs being in its camp where the BJP itself accounts for 342 members in both the Houses. The Opposition camp has 324 MPs, with the Congress having 126 members. The YSRCP’s backing would increase the NDA’s tally.
With the BRS and the BJD opting to abstain, the electoral college is set to come down to 770 votes, with the majority mark being 386.
In the 2022 V-P poll, Dhankhar had secured 528 votes as against Alva’s 182.
Preparations in NDA, Oppn camps
Both the NDA and the Opposition have rallied their MPs for the V-P election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with other BJP ministers and MPs, attended a two-day workshop, Sansad Karyashala, which got underway in Delhi on September 7.
The NDA also held a meeting of their MPs to brief them on the election process, who also participated in a mock poll.
The leaders of the Opposition parties – including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, TMC, RJD, JMM, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), CPI and CPI-M – held a meeting in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan (Old Parliament House) in a show of unity Monday, where its MPs took part in a mock poll to get familiar with the voting process.
Among those who attended the meeting were Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi, NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar and DMK leader T R Baalu.
The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was not present during the meeting as he was said to be abroad. He is expected to arrive in Delhi on Monday night to be able to cast his vote in Tuesday’s election.
Sources said that the Opposition nominee will have Congress MPs Syed Naseer Hussain, Manickam Tagore and TMC MP Satabdi Roy as his polling agents. Congress MPs Manickam Tagore and Shaktisinh Gohil will be Sudershan Reddy’s counting agents.
Sources said the Opposition MPs were told to ensure that their votes are not wasted since their 15 votes were declared invalid in 2022.
Who are the candidates?
Radhakrishnan, 68, who belongs to the OBC, hails from Tamil Nadu. Known for having an RSS background, he has risen through the ranks in the BJP. Radhakrishnan is also the only BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, who has won two Lok Sabha elections from the state – in 1998 and 1999.
Justice Reddy, who retired from the Supreme Court in 2011, will be the first former apex court judge to contest an election for the V-P post. During his four-and-a-half years tenure in the top court, Justice Reddy heard several constitutional cases. His landmark judgment was in the matter of Nandini Sundar versus State of Chhattisgarh in 2011, in which his Bench disbanded the Salwa Judum militia for being illegal and unconstitutional.