Voting is currently underway in parliament to elect India’s 14th Vice President, following Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation in July 2025. The contest pits NDA’s CP Radhakrishnan against INDIA bloc’s Justice B Sudershan Reddy. Here’s a full breakdown of party support and alliances:
1. nda Candidate: CP Radhakrishnan
Background: 68-year-old, two-time lok sabha mp from Coimbatore, current governor of Maharashtra, belongs to the Gounder-Kongu Vellalar OBC community.
Supporting Parties:
Bharatiya Janata party (BJP)
YSR congress Party
Other nda allies and some smaller parties
On Paper Strength: 425 MPs; including possible support from AAP’s swati Maliwal, tally could reach 436 MPs.
2. india Bloc Candidate: Justice B Sudershan Reddy
Background: 79-year-old retired supreme court judge from Telangana, known for rulings against Salwa Judum and on black-money investigations.
Supporting Parties:
Congress (INC)
Trinamool congress (TMC)
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
Nationalist parties like NCP, RJD
Other minor parties and independent MPs who have expressed support
On Paper Strength: 324 MPs, with some independents and smaller party MPs undecided, potentially boosting tally.
3. Abstentions and Neutral Parties
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) are reportedly abstaining from voting.
Their absence fixes the effective strength of the electoral college at 770 MPs, making 386 votes the majority mark.
4. Voting Details
Voting is conducted by secret ballot under proportional representation with a single transferable vote.
MPs mark preferences; ambiguous or incorrectly marked ballots are invalid.
MPs in preventive detention (e.g., Sheikh Abdul Rashid, Amritpal Singh) vote via postal ballot.
5. Key Takeaways
NDA has a numerical advantage, but the margin may be narrower than 2022.
Cross-voting remains a possibility due to the secret ballot system.
The election is also seen as a test of parliamentary strength ahead of future legislative sessions.
✨ Bottom Line: While NDA’s CP Radhakrishnan is the frontrunner on paper, Justice B Sudershan Reddy’s india bloc support and potential cross-voting make the contest closely watched and politically significant.
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