The stage is set for a charged vice-presidential election on Tuesday, September 9, pitting NDA’s C.P. Radhakrishnan, Maharashtra Governor and BJP veteran from Tamil Nadu, against INDIA bloc’s B. Sudershan Reddy, a retired Supreme Court judge from Telangana.
Triggered by Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation on July 21, 2025, citing health reasons, the election will see 781 MPs from both Houses of Parliament vote via secret ballot from 10 AM to 5 PM, with results expected by late evening after counting begins at 6 PM.
The electoral college, comprising 543 Lok Sabha and 238 Rajya Sabha members (including 12 nominated), has a majority mark of 391 votes. The NDA, with 425 MPs, holds a clear edge over the INDIA bloc’s 324, bolstered by YSRCP’s 11 MPs, while BRS and BJD (7 Rajya Sabha MPs each) will abstain. Voting follows a single transferable vote system, where MPs mark preferences numerically, without party whips, allowing potential cross-voting.
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Radhakrishnan, 67, a former Coimbatore MP and Tamil Nadu BJP chief, is projected as an experienced administrator, ideal for chairing the Rajya Sabha. The NDA highlights his RSS roots and clean record. Conversely, the INDIA bloc portrays Reddy, 79, as a defender of constitutional values, citing his 2011 Salwa Judum ruling against Chhattisgarh’s anti-Naxal militia and his orders for probing black money.
The BJP criticized Reddy’s Salwa Judum verdict as weakening anti-Maoist efforts, while the opposition slammed Radhakrishnan’s RSS ties, framing the contest as an ideological battle. Reddy, who led Telangana’s caste survey, urged MPs to vote beyond party lines, emphasizing democratic integrity.
Both candidates campaigned extensively, with Radhakrishnan meeting MPs across states and Reddy engaging opposition leaders, though his meeting with RJD’s Lalu Prasad drew BJP ire. Despite the INDIA bloc’s unity, the NDA’s numerical advantage makes Radhakrishnan the likely winner, barring unexpected defections.
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