NEW DELHI, Sept 9: As expected, the Maharashtra Governor and the NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan was on Tuesday elected the Vice President of India succeeding Mr Jagdeep Dhankhar in the post.
The 68-year-old sailed through the election scooping up 452 first preference votes, much more than the NDA’s total strength in the two Houses of Parliament, leaving Opposition candidate and retired Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy trailing with only 300 first preference votes.
While 754 votes were cast, 15 were found to be invalid. Of the valid votes, Mr Radhakrishnan got 451 first preference votes, Justice Reddy got 300, said Returning Officer for the election PV Modi. The 150-vote margin, however, is one of the lowest in the Vice-Presidential polls. In 2022, Jagdeep Dhankhar had beaten Opposition candidate Margaret Alva with the highest margin in the six last Vice Presidential elections. He secured 528 votes to her tally of 182.
The voting figures also made it clear that there has been considerable cross-voting – presumably from Opposition MPs. At least 19 MPs belonging to the INDIA bloc are believed to have voted for the NDA candidate. Though the Congress has claimed that the 315 Opposition MPs had held together, jubilant NDA is claiming this as another example of the deep fissures in the Opposition ranks.
Congratulating the Vice President elect, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, posted on X: “We hope the new Vice President-elect will uphold the highest ethos of Parliamentary traditions, ensuring equal space and dignity for the Opposition, and not succumb to pressures of the ruling dispensation.” “The Vice President, the second highest Constitutional office in the order of precedence, must be revitalised to reflect independence, fairness, and strength in safeguarding Democratic values,” he added.
(Manas Dasgupta)
