The BRICS TimesWhile Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan is the NDA’s vice-presidential election candidate, former SC judge Sudershan Reddy is the Opposition’s nominee.
The election for the chair of vice-president is scheduled for Tuesday, September 9, when CP Radhakrishnan and Sudershan Reddy will face each other in a closely watched contest. This election comes almost two months after Jagdeep Dhankhar stepped down suddenly, citing medical reasons for his resignation from the country’s second-highest constitutional office.
Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan has been announced as the National Democratic Alliance’s official candidate, while the opposition bloc INDIA has nominated retired Supreme Court judge Sudershan Reddy as its contender for the post.
The voting for vice-president election will begin at 10 am on September 9 and conclude at 5 pm, with members of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha forming the electoral college. The counting of votes is expected to start at 6 pm the same day. The electoral college includes 233 elected Rajya Sabha members, 12 nominated members, and 543 elected Lok Sabha members, although one seat in the lower house and five in the upper house remain vacant.
The NDA enters this election with a numerical advantage as the alliance has majority support in both parliamentary houses. In the Lok Sabha, out of 542 sitting members, the NDA commands the backing of 293 legislators. Within the Rajya Sabha, the alliance enjoys support from 129 members in the chamber’s effective strength of 240. With a combined voting pool of 786 members across both houses, 394 votes form the winning mark. The NDA, with a tally of 422 assured votes, comfortably crosses that threshold. Meanwhile, the BRS and BJD parties have chosen to stay away from the election process.
This vice-president election became necessary after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on July 21, 2024, citing health priorities and following medical guidance. His resignation was accepted immediately under Article 67(a) of the Constitution. Dhankhar had been serving as vice-president since 2022, after his earlier role as governor of West Bengal from 2019 to 2022.
The NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan, aged 68, represents the Goundar-Kongu Vellalar OBC community and is considered a seasoned BJP leader with deep roots in RSS ideology. Known within the party as soft-spoken and non-controversial, he remains the only BJP parliamentarian from Tamil Nadu to have been elected twice to the Lok Sabha, during 1998 and 1999. He has been serving as Maharashtra governor since July 31, 2024.
On the other hand, the INDIA bloc has fielded B Sudershan Reddy, who retired from the Supreme Court in July 2011. The 79-year-old jurist, also from southern India, is renowned for landmark verdicts including his criticism of the Union government over inaction in black money investigations. He also ruled the Chhattisgarh government’s Salwa Judum initiative unconstitutional, making him a notable figure in judicial history.
