Vice Presidential Election 2025 sees NDA’s CP Radhakrishnan face INDIA bloc’s Justice Reddy, as 12 MPs abstained from voting, adding fresh twists to the high-stakes contest.
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NEW DELHI: Voting is currently underway for the Vice Presidential election in India, with lawmakers set to choose between the BJP-led ruling alliance’s candidate, Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan, and the INDIA bloc’s nominee, former Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy. The election was necessitated by the sudden resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
While the contest is shaping up to be a tight one, three prominent political parties — Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) — have announced that they will boycott the polls. Their absence is significant given the delicate balance of numbers in the electoral college.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD):
Led by former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the BJD has decided to abstain from voting, citing its long-standing policy of maintaining an equal distance from both the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA bloc.
The BJD has seven MPs in the Rajya Sabha, Niranjan Bishi, Sulata Deo, Muzibulla Khan, Subhasish Khuntia, Manas Ranjan Mangaraj, Sasmit Patra, and Debashish Samantaray. The party currently has no representation in the Lok Sabha.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS):
The BRS, led by former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, has announced its boycott over the shortage of urea in Telangana, which it says has caused deep anguish among farmers.
BRS working president KT Rama Rao said,
“For the last 20 days, we have been warning both state and central governments about the shortage of urea. Yet they have failed to respond. As a mark of protest and in solidarity with 71 lakh Telangana farmers, BRS has decided not to participate in the Vice President election. If NOTA was an option, we would have chosen it.”
The BRS has four MPs in the Rajya Sabha: Damodar Rao Divakonda Reddy, B Parthasaradhi Reddy, KR Suresh Reddy, and Ravi Chandra Vaddiraju. The party has no MPs in the Lok Sabha.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD):
The SAD, led by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, has chosen to abstain, citing a lack of support from both the Centre and Punjab’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in handling the unprecedented floods in the state.
In a statement on X, the party wrote:
“Punjab and Punjabis have always stood by the nation whenever and wherever there has been a crisis. But today, Punjabis themselves face a very severe crisis because of unprecedented floods. Almost one-third of the state lies submerged under water with houses and crops completely destroyed. Neither the state government nor the Centre have come forward to help Punjabis in any way.”
SAD has only one MP in Parliament — Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
What the Numbers Really Mean in This Election
The Vice President is elected by an electoral college of 788 members, comprising 245 Rajya Sabha MPs and 543 Lok Sabha MPs, including the 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha who are also eligible to vote.
Currently, the effective strength stands at 781 members, as six Rajya Sabha seats and one Lok Sabha seat are vacant. This sets the majority mark at 391 votes.
- NDA strength: 293 MPs in Lok Sabha + 129 MPs in Rajya Sabha = 422 MPs
- INDIA bloc strength: Backing of around 325 MPs
With the boycotts, the numbers could shift slightly, but the NDA still holds a narrow edge given its higher seat count in the Lok Sabha.
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