Oppn hopes NDA’s Vice-Prez pick Radhakrishnan upholds dignity of office

New Delhi: INDIA bloc leaders on Monday expressed optimism that Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, if elected as the next Vice President of India, will uphold the dignity of the office and adhere to the parliamentary traditions.

The BJP-led NDA had named Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the Vice Presidential election scheduled for September 9. The poll was necessitated after Jagdeep Dhankhar stepped down on July 21, citing health issues, and tendered his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu.

Speaking to IANS, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi said, “He is Maharashtra’s Governor and a non-controversial figure. He has also served as Jharkhand’s governor and a Member of Parliament. He is also a leader of the BJP. We hope that if he is elected, he will uphold the dignity of the post.”

She added that whether the INDIA bloc would field its own candidate or extend support to Radhakrishnan would be decided by the alliance leadership.

Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat, while extending his greetings, stressed the importance of impartiality.

“I extend my best wishes to him. I wish that if he is elected, he will be the Vice President of India, not the Vice President of the Bharatiya Janata Party. For the dignity of that position, this is what we expect,” Bhagat told IANS.

“We hope that he follows the parliamentary traditions, unlike Jagdeep Dhankhar, who earlier worked as an agent of the BJP and later became a victim of it. It is very important that positions like this uphold the democratic and parliamentary traditions,” he added.

The numbers, however, appear tilted in favour of the NDA. The Electoral College, consisting of 786 members from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, requires 394 votes for a simple majority.

With 293 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 129 in the Rajya Sabha, alongside the backing of nominated members, the NDA controls around 422 votes — a comfortable edge.

The INDIA bloc, on the other hand, has about 300 MPs across both Houses. Even with a united front, the contest would be narrower than in previous elections.

Congress MP Imran Masood refrained from making a firm statement on the INDIA bloc’s strategy, saying, “This is the BJP’s decision. I don’t have anything to say on this. Our party will decide on it accordingly.”

Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said that a collective decision would be taken after wider discussions.

“It will be decided after discussions with all leaders; consensus is always preferable,” he told IANS.

Radhakrishnan’s nomination is not merely a reward for loyalty — it signals the BJP’s renewed push to expand its footprint in Tamil Nadu and the southern states, where it has historically struggled to gain traction.

IANS