NDA’s Radhakrishnan Poised To Win Vice-President Elections; BJD And BRS Announce Decision To Abstain From Voting

The stage is set for a high-stakes contest on Tuesday (9 September), as Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan, the NDA’s candidate, faces off against former Supreme Court judge Sudershan Reddy, the INDI alliance nominee, in the vice-presidential election.

The vote comes nearly two months after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned, citing health reasons.

Polling for the vice-presidential election will begin at 10 am and conclude at 5 pm, with counting scheduled the same evening starting at 6 pm, the Hindustan Times reported.

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), led by former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has decided to abstain from voting in the Vice-Presidential election. Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra stated that the party will remain neutral, keeping an equal distance from both the BJP-led NDA and the INDI alliance.

BRS working president KT Rama Rao also said on that Telangana’s decision to abstain from the Vice-Presidential election reflects the “anguish” of the state’s farmers over the ongoing urea shortage.

Members of both Houses of Parliament, comprising the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, form the electoral college for this election.

The electoral college consists of 233 elected members and 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha (with five vacant seats) and 543 elected members of the Lok Sabha (with one vacancy), bringing the total strength to 786 MPs. A candidate needs at least 394 votes to secure victory.

The numbers are clearly stacked in favour of the ruling NDA. The BJP-led alliance commands the support of 293 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 129 in the Rajya Sabha, giving it a total of 422 votes, comfortably above the majority mark.

This puts CP Radhakrishnan in a commanding position to win the election.

The INDI alliance, with roughly 160–170 members across both Houses, has fielded Justice Sudershan Reddy to present a symbolic challenge. AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen), led by Asaduddin Owaisi, has extended support to Reddy, framed as solidarity between two Hyderabadi figures. While the INDI alliance has its core support, critical parties like BJD and BRS abstained from voting.

Opposition leaders describe the contest as a demonstration of “democratic assertion,” even as the NDA’s numerical advantage makes a reversal highly unlikely.

While the BJP has consistently portrayed their nominee, CP Radhakrishnan, as a humble, controversy-free, seasoned leader, the INDI allince leaders have cast the election as an ideological battle, promoting Justice Sudershan Reddy as a defender of the Indian Constitution.

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