New Delhi:
India will welcome a new Vice President by nightfall September 9. But will it be the BJP-led ruling alliance's pick of Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan? Or will the INDIA bloc's ex-Supreme Court judge, Justice B Sudershan Reddy, deliver a shock?
Here are the top 10 points in this big story:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first MP to vote as polling began at 10 am. Voting is open till 5 pm, and the counting will begin post 6 pm. "Voted in the 2025 vice president election," he said on X, before leaving for flood-hit Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.
- Both Mr Radhakrishnan and Justice Reddy have expressed confidence. Justice Reddy, who is from Hyderabad, said he is "trying to awaken people's conscience". "This is a fight for the Constitution... I thank the people for the love I got and the response of the society," he said.
- Meanwhile, Mr Radhakrishnan said he expects "victory of Indian nationalism"; "We are all one, we will be one, and we want India to become Viksit Bharat," he said.
- Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury raked up the Telugu language angle, requesting Telangana's BRS, which has announced to boycott the election, to vote for Justice Reddy. "I want to tell the BRS that this is an important day for Telangana Reddy is a candidate from South India. He has worked for Telangana. Reddy speaks Telugu, and BRS is not voting for him. It is a matter of shame."
- The election process is fairly straightforward. All MPs, elected or nominated, can vote. They do so in a secret ballot, meaning each can vote as they wish. This means cross-voting is common. In 2022, for example, several opposition MPs voted for Jagdeep Dhankhar, the BJP's pick. Then the BJP benefited from a large number of its own MPs, over 300 in the Lok Sabha alone, in the fray. This time, the party-led NDA has 427 in both Houses. That should still be enough given confirmed support from the YSR Congress and a 386-vote majority mark after the BRS, BJD's abstention.
- However, the narrower margins - in 2022, Mr Dhankhar won by 346 votes - mean the BJP is taking no chances. 'Man-to-man marking' is what sources have told NDTV. BJP MPs have been divided into groups that will gather in the morning and stay together for the rest of the day, to minimise disruptions and/or attempted poaching by the opposition.
- BJP MPs from the southern states will be shepherded by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and those from Uttar Pradesh will be 'guarded' by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, while Agriculture Minister Shivraj Chouhan, Housing Minister ML Khattar, Law Minister Arjun Meghwal, and five others have been assigned 'guard' duties.
- The opposition, i.e., the Congress-led INDIA bloc, has only 315 votes, not including 12 Aam Aadmi Party MPs who may back Justice Reddy. However, even within that 12, there may be discord; AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal may not toe the party line, given last year's clash with Arvind Kejriwal over alleged assault by his aide, Bibhav Kumar. However, even if Ms Maliwal votes on party lines, as do all other non-BJP MPs, including those within the INDIA bloc, Mr Radhakrishnan will still get enough votes to win.
- This election was necessitated by the sudden resignation of Mr Dhankhar, who quit citing ill health on a turbulent first day of Parliament's Monsoon session. Sources told NDTV Mr Dhankhar ran afoul of the government after accepting an opposition-sponsored motion to impeach Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Verma in the cash-at-home row.
- The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance picked Mr Radhakrishnan, a selection seen as a nod to the election in Tamil Nadu, his home state, next year. The opposition was expected to respond with a Tamil face of its own - possibly Tiruchi Siva, an MP of Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK - but settled on retired top court judge Justice Reddy.
With input from agencies
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