The stage is set for CP Radhakrishnan and Sudershan Reddy to battle it out for the post of vice-president of India, with the election for the high-stakes contest taking place on Tuesday, September 9, nearly two months after Jagdeep Dhankhar’s sudden resignation, citing health reasons.
While Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan is ruling National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) vice-presidential election candidate, former Supreme Court judge Sudershan Reddy is the opposition bloc INDIA’s nominee.
Vice-presidential election | 5 facts
– Vice-presidential election time: Voting for the vice-presidential election will begin at 10 am on Tuesday and conclude at 5 pm with all members of Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha in the electoral college. Counting of votes will begin at 6 pm the same day. The electoral college consists of 233 elected members of the Rajya Sabha (five seats are currently vacant), 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha and 543 elected members of the Lok Sabha (one seat is currently vacant).
– How are numbers stacked: The numbers are stacked in favour of the ruling NDA which enjoys a clear majority in both houses of Parliament. In 542-member Lok Sabha, the BJP-led NDA enjoys the support of 293 members. The ruling alliance has the support of 129 members in the Rajya Sabha, which has an effective strength of 240. In total, the combined strength of both Houses for the vice-presidential vote stands at 786, making 394 the victory mark. The NDA, with support from 422 members, comfortably crosses that mark, giving it a commanding position in the key contest. The BRS and BJD have decided to stay away from vice presidential elections.
– What necessitated the vice-presidential election: Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21 tendered his resignation from the post of vice-president of India “to prioritise health care and abide by medical advice.” The resignation was effective immediately and was submitted in accordance with Article 67(a) of the Constitution. Jagdeep Dhankhar was serving as the vice-president of India since 2022. He previously served as the governor of West Bengal from 2019 to 2022.
– Who is the NDA candidate: The NDA has fielded Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan, an OBC from the Goundar-Kongu Vellalar community, for the vice-presidential election. The 68-year-old BJP leader who is rooted in RSS ideology is known in the party as a soft-spoken, non-controversial figure, who is also the only BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, to have been elected to the Lok Sabha twice in 1998 and 1999. He is serving as Maharashtra governor since July 31, 2024.
– Who is the INDIA bloc candidate: To take on CP Radhakrishnan, the INDIA bloc of the opposition has nominated former Supreme Court judge Sudershan Reddy, who also hails from southern India. B Sudershan Reddy, 79, retired from the Supreme Court in July 2011, and is a jurist known for several landmark judgments criticising the then Union government for showing slackness in probing black-money cases. He had also declared Salwa Judum, appointed by the Chhattisgarh government to fight Naxals, as unconstitutional.
