CP Radhakrishnan Wins VP Election Amid Opposition’s ‘Battle of Ideologies’ Claim

Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan has won the election for the 15th Vice President of India with a convincing 452 votes in the parliament poll.

The battle was fought between Radhakrishnan, the candidate of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and former Supreme Court judge Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, candidate of the opposition INDIA bloc, who gained 300 votes. The election was triggered after the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21 due to health reasons.

Congress MP Tanuj Punia termed the election a "battle of ideologies," accusing one side of trying to use constitutional institutions to serve political purposes. In an interview with ANI, he stated, "It is a contest where one side seeks to employ constitutional institutions for their political purposes, whereas the other side is led by a candidate who has always stood up for the Constitution."

The voting took place on Tuesday from 10 a.m. and 5 pm, then counting in New Delhi. 13 MPs, including seven from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), four from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), one from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and one independent, did not cast ballots.

BJD had already declared its intention to abstain, BRS did not attend, and SAD listed dissatisfaction at the Centre and the state government of Punjab for not supporting it.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seasoned leaders Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda, and Kiren Rijiju cast their votes.  Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among other opposition party leaders, cast ballots as well.

With the backing of 427 MPs, Radhakrishnan had a clear numerical advantage on paper that was significantly higher than the 391 majority threshold.  Justice Reddy could rely on the support of 354 MPs, 249 of whom were in the lower house and 105 of whom were in the upper house, while he was anticipated to receive 293 votes in the Lok Sabha and 134 in the Rajya Sabha.

There are currently 781 members of Parliament, including 239 in the Rajya Sabha (five seats vacant) and 542 in the Lok Sabha (one seat vacant).  Prior to the election, both the opposition and the ruling alliance conducted practice polls, urging Members of Parliament to carefully cast their ballots in order to prevent their votes from being rejected.

With this win, CP Radhakrishnan will become the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha and its ex-officio Chairperson, thus bringing continuity in the operations of the upper house of Parliament.

Also Read: Vice Presidential Polls Today: PM Modi to Cast First Vote as NDA Eyes Comfortable Win