Vice President Election 2025: Radhakrishnan Leads as NDA Numbers Secure Strong Edge
Vice President Election 2025: NDA Gains Clear Edge as Radhakrishnan Strengthens Position with BJD and BRS Abstention
Vice President Election 2025 puts the BJP-led NDA in a strong position ahead of Tuesday’s vote. NDA candidate C P Radhakrishnan faces INDIA alliance nominee Justice (Retd.) P Sudershan Reddy. The decision by BJD and BRS to abstain from voting further boosts Radhakrishnan’s chances, tilting the numbers firmly in NDA’s favor.
Vice President Election 2025: BJD and BRS Abstention Boosts NDA’s Advantage
Both the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD and the K Chandrashekar Rao-led BRS, which remain outside the NDA and INDIA blocs, announced on Monday that their MPs will abstain from voting in the high-profile Vice-Presidential election.
C P Radhakrishnan, the current Maharashtra Governor, faces Justice (Retd.) P Sudershan Reddy, a former Supreme Court judge, in this contest. The election became necessary after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the Vice-President’s post on July 21, the opening day of Parliament’s monsoon session, citing health concerns.
BJD MP Sasmit Patra confirmed the party’s decision to abstain from voting in the Vice-Presidential poll. He stated, “The Biju Janata Dal remains equidistant from both the NDA and INDIA alliances. Our focus is on the development and welfare of Odisha and its 4.5 crore people. The party leadership made this decision during a Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting chaired by Naveen Patnaik.”
Vice President Election 2025: BJD and BRS Abstention Shapes NDA Advantage, YSRCP Extends Support
The BJD currently holds seven Rajya Sabha seats and none in the Lok Sabha. In the 2022 Vice-Presidential election, the BJD, then in power in Odisha, supported NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar, who defeated Opposition nominee Margaret Alva comfortably. However, the BJP ousted the BJD from power in the 2024 Odisha polls.
BRS MP K R Suresh Reddy confirmed that the party will abstain from the Vice-Presidential poll. He said, “Our priority is the farmers of Telangana. Both camps failed to assure us of help on the urea shortage issue. Since neither side addressed this concern, we will stay away from Tuesday’s voting.” He added that the BRS would have chosen the NOTA option if it were available in the Vice-Presidential election. The BRS currently has four Rajya Sabha members and none in the Lok Sabha.
Meanwhile, another non-NDA, non-INDIA player, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), announced support for C P Radhakrishnan. Led by Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the YSRCP holds seven Rajya Sabha seats and four Lok Sabha MPs, giving the NDA a further numerical advantage.
Vice President Election 2025: NDA Holds Strong Majority as Numbers Favor Radhakrishnan
The electoral college for the Vice-Presidential election includes 781 MPs—239 from the Rajya Sabha and 542 from the Lok Sabha. The numbers clearly favor the NDA, which commands 425 MPs, with the BJP alone contributing 342 members across both Houses. The Opposition camp has 324 MPs, including 126 from Congress. Support from the YSRCP further strengthens the NDA’s tally.
With BJD and BRS choosing to abstain, the electoral college will shrink to 770 votes, setting the majority mark at 386.
In the 2022 Vice-Presidential election, Jagdeep Dhankhar secured 528 votes, defeating Margaret Alva, who managed 182 votes.
Vice President Election 2025: NDA and Opposition Camps Intensify Preparations with Mock Polls and Strategy Meets
Both the NDA and the Opposition have mobilized their MPs for the Vice-Presidential election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with BJP ministers and MPs, attended a two-day Sansad Karyashala workshop in Delhi starting September 7. The NDA also organized a meeting to brief MPs on the voting process and conducted a mock poll to ensure clarity.
Opposition leaders, including those from Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, TMC, RJD, JMM, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), CPI, and CPI-M, gathered in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan on Monday to showcase unity. Their MPs also participated in a mock poll to familiarize themselves with the voting process.
Key attendees included Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi, NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar, and DMK leader T R Baalu. However, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, missed the meeting as he was abroad. He is expected to return Monday night to cast his vote on Tuesday.
Sources confirmed that Congress MPs Syed Naseer Hussain, Manickam Tagore, and TMC MP Satabdi Roy will serve as polling agents for the Opposition nominee, while Manickam Tagore and Shaktisinh Gohil will act as counting agents. Opposition leaders also instructed MPs to avoid invalid votes, recalling that 15 votes were declared invalid in 2022.
Vice President Election 2025: Meet the Candidates – C P Radhakrishnan and Justice P Sudershan Reddy
C P Radhakrishnan, 68, represents the OBC community and hails from Tamil Nadu. With a strong RSS background, he climbed the ranks within the BJP. Radhakrishnan remains the only BJP leader from Tamil Nadu to win two Lok Sabha elections from the state, in 1998 and 1999.
Justice (Retd.) P Sudershan Reddy, who retired from the Supreme Court in 2011, makes history as the first former apex court judge to contest the Vice-Presidential election. During his four-and-a-half-year tenure, he handled several constitutional cases. His most notable judgment came in Nandini Sundar vs State of Chhattisgarh (2011), where his Bench declared the Salwa Judum militia illegal and unconstitutional.