New Delhi: It’s judgment day for Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan and Justice B Sudershan Reddy, a former Supreme Court judge, as they face off in Tuesday’s Vice-Presidential election.
Being the ruling NDA’s pick, Radhakrishnan should logically be the favourite as BJP and its allies hold the numbers, even with the seven-member BJD and four-member BRS deciding to abstain from voting.
In 542-member Lok Sabha, the BJP-led NDA has the support of 293 members. In the Rajya Sabha, which has an effective strength of 240, the ruling alliance enjoys the support of 129 members.
Of the total 782 MPs in the electoral college, 771 are expected to vote. If all 771 MPs cast their vote on party lines in the secret ballot, Radhakrishnan could get 422 votes, which will easily cross the halfway mark of 390.
Could there be a twist in the tale and upset calculations?
“Everyone makes appeals during the elections. You will see tomorrow, the numbers will be more than the number of the total NDA members,” Shiv Sena floor leader Shrikant Shinde told reporters.
According to sources, all eyes will be on Shiv Sena (UBT) as some of their MPs are of the view they should opt out of INDIA bloc and join hands with Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Some senior ministers have reportedly reached out to a handful of Opposition MPs to strengthen NDA candidate’s cause.
On the other hand, Congress-led Opposition is hoping that some TDP MPs could opt for Justice Reddy as he is a Telugu.
Both camps held meetings on Monday to train their MPs on how to cast their vote. In the Vice-Presidential election, voting is held in the preferential mode.
“In most elections, there are often 10-15 invalid votes. Although we are well-prepared, we may inadvertently lose our valid votes due to our over-enthusiasm. To avoid that, we held a mock poll in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan,” CPI(M) Rajya Sabha floor leader John Brittas said.
Voting time & counting
* Voting for all members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha will begin at 10 am on Tuesday, and conclude at 5 pm.
* Counting of votes will begin at 6 pm the same day.
* 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).
* The out-of-turn election was necessitated as Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned as Vice-President on July 21.
Know the candidates
NDA’s CP Radhakrishnan – Incumbent Maharashtra governor (serving since July 31, 2024), he is an OBC from the Goundar-Kongu Vellalar community. BJP’s 68-year-old leader is rooted in RSS ideology. He is a soft-spoken, non-controversial figure. Only BJP leader from Tamil Nadu to have been elected to the Lok Sabha twice in 1998 and 1999.
INDIA bloc’s B Sudershan Reddy – A former Supreme Court judge, Justice Reddy also hails from southern India (Andhra Pradesh). The 79-year-old, who retired from Supreme Court in July 2011, is known for several landmark judgments criticising the then-Union government for being slack in probing black-money cases. Justice Reddy also declared Salwa Judum, appointed by Chhattisgarh government to fight Naxals, as unconstitutional.
