New Delhi, Sept 9: Voting for the Vice Presidential election was underway in Parliament on Tuesday, with leaders from both the ruling NDA and the Opposition INDIA bloc projecting confidence about their respective candidates. The contest pits NDA nominee and Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan against joint opposition pick and former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy.
Congress leader and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said the Opposition was standing together. “The INDIA bloc will fight the elections together. We have requested a conscience vote. The INDIA bloc and opposition parties will vote against the NDA candidate,” he told reporters.
BJP leaders struck a different tone, insisting their candidate would win decisively. “Wait for the results. The candidate nominated by the BJP-NDA is very graceful; his life has been full of achievements. I am confident he will win with a full majority,” said BJP MP Anurag Thakur.
Adding to the ruling camp’s confidence, Telugu Desam Party MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu said cross-voting would work in the NDA’s favor. “I am not only confident that our NDA candidate will win but also that he will get more than 80–100 majority in this election. Some of the Opposition MPs will be voting for us,” he claimed.
The polling exercise saw a steady stream of prominent leaders casting their votes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to vote when polling opened at 10 a.m. Union Health Minister and BJP president J.P. Nadda soon followed, along with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also turned up together to vote for the opposition candidate. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi cast his ballot but declined to answer questions from reporters, saying only, “Thank you, nice to see you,” before leaving. In a rare show of camaraderie across party lines, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari arrived at Parliament together, sharing a laugh as they entered.
Meanwhile, two NDA lawmakers skipped a breakfast huddle for MPs from Bihar and Jharkhand earlier in the day, sparking speculation of dissent. BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy cited a health checkup, while LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan said he was occupied with rituals for his father’s death anniversary. Both assured the party they would cast their votes later.
