India will witness a high-stakes contest for the Vice Presidential election on September 9, with the ruling NDA’s candidate CP Radhakrishnan going head-to-head against opposition INDIA bloc nominee B Sudershan Reddy. The election follows the unexpected resignation of former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21, creating a vacancy for the country’s second-highest constitutional post.
Both candidates this time come from southern India—Radhakrishnan, a senior BJP leader and current governor of Maharashtra, represents Tamil Nadu, while Reddy, a former Supreme Court judge, hails from Telangana. Their candidacies add a unique regional dynamic to the race.
Polling is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 9. The vice president is elected by an electoral college made up of members from both houses of Parliament, including nominated Rajya Sabha members. For the 17th election, the college consists of 233 elected Rajya Sabha members, 12 nominated members, and 543 Lok Sabha members—totaling 788, though seven seats are vacant, bringing the present count to 781.
In terms of numbers, the NDA holds a strong edge. With 293 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 129 in the Rajya Sabha, the ruling alliance commands a total of 422 members. On the other hand, the INDIA bloc controls around 300 MPs, including members from the Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar), CPI(M), RJD, JMM, AAP, and IUML. While the opposition has framed the election as an ideological struggle, the arithmetic clearly favors the NDA.
Adding to this, parties such as the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) have declared they will abstain from voting. BJD chief Naveen Patnaik cited the party’s policy of maintaining equal distance from both national blocs, while BRS leader KT Rama Rao said their decision reflects farmers’ frustration over a urea shortage in Telangana. Though these parties hold only a handful of seats—seven MPs from BJD in the Rajya Sabha and four from BRS—their abstention is seen as indirectly aiding the NDA’s candidate.
With the numbers heavily tilted toward the NDA, CP Radhakrishnan appears positioned for a clear win, though the INDIA bloc continues to emphasize the symbolic importance of its challenge.
