New Delhi – In a resounding victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), senior leader C.P. Radhakrishnan has been elected as the 15th Vice President of India. The former Governor of Maharashtra defeated the INDIA bloc’s joint candidate, retired Supreme Court Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy, by a margin of 152 votes in the election held on Tuesday.
The victory of Radhakrishnan, a veteran politician with a strong background in the RSS and the BJP, was widely anticipated due to the NDA’s numerical superiority in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. However, the final vote tally has raised questions about a potential vote split within the opposition INDIA alliance.
The Vote Pattern and Outcome.
The Vice-Presidential election, which is conducted through a secret ballot, saw a total of 767 MPs cast their votes. Of these, 752 were declared valid, while 15 were considered invalid.
- C.P. Radhakrishnan (NDA): 452 votes
- B. Sudarshan Reddy (INDIA bloc): 300 votes
The winning margin of 152 votes is significant, solidifying the NDA’s dominance in the electoral college.
Questions Raised on INDIA Alliance’s Vote Tally
While the INDIA bloc had a total strength of over 315 MPs, their candidate, Sudarshan Reddy, managed to secure only 300 votes. This shortfall of 15 votes has led to speculation of cross-voting and a potential split within the opposition ranks. Expected vs. Actual Votes: The INDIA bloc’s initial projections had put their candidate’s vote count higher, hoping for a more respectable tally that would demonstrate a unified opposition. The Invalid Votes: The 15 invalid votes are also a point of contention, with some analysts suggesting they may have been a form of “deliberate invalid votes” by opposition MPs who did not want to be seen as directly supporting the NDA candidate but also did not want to back their own alliance’s candidate. Abstentions: Adding to the opposition’s woes, key parties like the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chose to abstain from the voting, further weakening the INDIA bloc’s position.
While the Congress and other opposition parties have publicly stated that they stood united, the final vote count suggests a different reality. The BJP, on the other hand, has claimed that at least 15 opposition members voted for their candidate, highlighting the deep cracks within the INDIA alliance. The outcome is being seen as a clear indicator of the challenges facing the opposition bloc in presenting a united front against the ruling NDA.
