In INDIA bloc's choice for V-P candidate, a bid to wage ‘ideological battle', put NDA allies in a spot
New Delhi: Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, a former Supreme Court judge, was announced as the joint Opposition candidate for the upcoming vice-presidential election Tuesday, following a meeting at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, who said that the choice reflected a collective resolve to wage an 'ideological battle'.
Initially, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a key constituent of the INDIA bloc, desired a Tamil candidate to counter the political dividends that the BJP hopes to reap from Tamil Nadu by fielding Radhakrishnan. However, 'there was a realisation that instead of merely coming across as reactive, the Opposition should exploit the fault lines in the NDA instead', a senior MP told ThePrint.
Following the announcement, DMK Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi, who also attended the meeting debating the V-P choice at Kharge's residence, said the Opposition had picked a face who valued the Constitution of India to fight against a person with a 'Hindutva and RSS background'.
'People who care about this country will definitely vote for Justice Reddy. Just because you (BJP) have a candidate from Tamil Nadu, doesn't mean you care about Tamil Nadu, Tamil language or values of the state. They have not allotted funds; they are imposing Hindi; they are trying to rewrite our history. They have no respect for the people of Tamil Nadu,' she said.
Andhra Pradesh's ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a key NDA ally, and its rival, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), have already declared their support for Radhakrishnan. Whether the Opposition's move will prompt a rethink in either camp remains to be seen.
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs form the electoral college, which currently has 782 Members of Parliament. The V-P candidate will have to cross the halfway mark of 392 to win. In the Lok Sabha, the NDA holds 293 MPs, and the Opposition commands the support of nearly 234 MPs. In the Rajya Sabha, the NDA enjoys the backing of roughly 130 MPs.
Among the Telugu parties, the TDP has 16 MPs in the Lok Sabha and two in the Rajya Sabha, and the YSRCP has four Lok Sabha MPs and seven Rajya Sabha members. Another Telugu party in Telangana, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, is represented by three MPs in the Rajya Sabha.
Kharge, flanked by several top Opposition leaders, described V-P candidate Sudershan Reddy as one of the most distinguished and progressive jurists in India. Before serving as a Supreme Court judge from 2007 to 2011, Justice Reddy served as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court in Assam and a judge in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
In 2013, appointed Goa's first Lokayukta, Sudershan Reddy stepped down within months, citing personal reasons.
Incidentally, Justice Reddy headed the three-member committee constituted by Vice President Hamid Ansari in 2009 under the Judges Inquiry Act to probe allegations against then Calcutta High Court Judge Soumitro Sen after a motion to impeach him was admitted in the Rajya Sabha.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien said the Aam Aadmi Party—not formally a part of the INDIA bloc anymore—had lent its support to Justice Reddy.
'It was a unanimous choice,' Kharge told a press conference after the Opposition's meeting.
Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva, whose name was also considered by the Opposition as a potential candidate, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary M.A. Baby, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Raut, and Samajwadi Party's Dharmendra Yadav were among those who attended the meeting at Kharge's house.
In the 2022 vice presidential election, NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar defeated the Opposition candidate, Margaret Alva, by a margin of 346 votes—the highest since 1997. The TMC, at the time, broke ranks with the Opposition and abstained from voting, accusing the Congress of attempting to impose its decision on allies without any consultations.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: Politics marked by paradoxes: Anatomy of BJP's 'Jat dilemma'
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