By Dr. Gyan Pathak
NDA’s candidate C P Radhakrishnan has filed his nomination papers for the election of Vice President of India on August 20, 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flanked by Radhakrishnan and senior NDA leaders handed over four sets of nomination papers to Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody, the returning officer for the election.
It is a foregone conclusion as is being reported on the basis of the respective strength of the electoral college, that NDA’s candidate is most likely to win the election. NDA has a majority with 394 MPs in the bicameral Parliament of India having 782 MPs. INDIA bloc has only 323 MPs including Rajya Sabah and Lok Sabha. If YSRCP supports the NDA’s candidate, NDA will have 11 more MPs with them. Non-aligned parties like BJD are yet to announce its support to NDA’s or INDIA bloc candidate.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed to the opposition political parties to support NDA’s candidate, but INDIA bloc has rejected his appeal, since they were more keen on fielding their own candidate as a symbolic fight to protect the constitutional values of the country, since NDA’s nominee has RSS background, the organisation that dreams making India a Hindu Rashtra as against the socialist secular federal democratic values of the Constitution of India.
INDIA bloc has therefore no political option but to contest the Vice-President election, which they called an “ideological battle”. They announced the name of former justice of the Supreme Court of India Balkrishna Sudershan Reddy as their nominee.
A joint statement of the INDIA bloc parties read, “The opposition parties have nominated Shri Sudershan Reddy garu as their joint candidate since he reflects fully the values that shaped our country’s freedom movement so profoundly and the values on which our country’s Constitution and democracy have been anchored. All these values are under assault and therefore our collective and determined resolve to fight this election.”
On August 19, PM Narendra Modi has appealed to all parties, including the Opposition for an unanimous election of NDA’s Vice Presidential Candidate CP Radhakrishnan. Urging all parties to back NDA’s candidate unanimously, PM Modi has said that CP Radhakrishnan was an excellent choice for the Vice President post, who has led a life without controversy, and is a very humble person.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has been talking to all parties for consensus, the PM Modi said. Nevertheless, his talk with political parties did no yield any result. Since CP Radhakrishnan is from Tamil Nadu, BJP leadership had pinned their hope on DMK’s support. Rajnath Singh has had a talk with DMK Supremo M K Stalin, but nothing positive came out.
Even as the BJP’s state unit and AIADMK played the “Tami Card” in a bid to pressure the DMK into extending its support for the NDA’s candidate, the DMK leaders have made it clear that the party had no intention of backing him since ideology is “above all else”. “We will give preference only to ideology. We cannot support Radhakrishnan merely on the grounds that he is Tamil. We have to look at what his ideologies are,” DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said.
All political parties in opposition INDIA bloc have expressed similar views. For them, the Vice-President election is not a simple election, but an “ideological battle” that has to be fought, albeit symbolically. By announcing the name of former Supreme Court Justice B Sudershan Reddy, the INDIA bloc has ignited great hope among the people of the country who cherish constitutional values as against the RSS-BJP’s Hindutva. INDIA bloc standing for the constitutional values of the country has therefore significant political impact across the country and electorate, though their nominee may lose the Vice President election.
INDIA bloc’s nominee Justice B Sudershan Reddy is from Andhra Pradesh. YSRCP supremo Jagan Mohan Reddy has though announced his support to NDA’s C P Radhakrishnan, the announcement of INDIA bloc candidate has placed him in a very tricky political situation. TDP is part of NDA, and it will support Radhakrishnan. At a time when both the political parties are accusing each other as traitor of Andhra Pradesh, it is uncertain which political party will lose by losing Andhra or Telugu Pride.
Radhakrishnan has been Governor in Maharashtra. Opposition political parties in Maharashtra are by and large happy with his behaviour as a governor. In spite of that, the opposition political parties of the state are strongly behind the INDIA bloc nominee for the sake of the fight to protect the “constitutional value” of the country.
It is worth noting that PM Narendra Modi has always been keen on selecting pliable people even on constitutional posts. The country has seen it several times, the latest being the selection of Election Commissioners of India, and unceremonious ouster of the former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. NDA’s nominee Radhakrishnan having RSS roots is being seen in this light.
Such a background in which election to the post of Vice President of India is being held has acquired a historical dimension, especially at a time when with two political ideological forces – propagating Hindutva and defending Constitutional values – are pitted against each other. Current Vice President election has thus a symbolic value which indicates that the country is heading towards a great ideological fight. (IPA Service)
