Leaders of the INDIA bloc Tuesday announced ex-Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy as their candidate for the vice-presidential election to be held on September 9. The announcement comes after a huddle at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence to deliberate on fielding a common candidate. The BJP-led NDA named Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan as its nominee for the post on Sunday. Radhakrishnan is a former president of the party’s Tamil Nadu unit and an RSS veteran. Reddy will contest against him for the second-highest post in India.
Reddy was the first Lokayukta of Goa and a former Supreme Court of India judge.
“It was unanimously resolved by all of the Indian bloc parties to field a single candidate. The fact that all opposition parties have settled on a single name makes me delighted. Following the announcement, Kharge remarked, “It is a huge victory for democracy.”
Kharge and other opposition leaders have also been contacted by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to solicit their support for a consensus decision.
The discussions take place in the context of the September 9 election, which was required following Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation from the position last month due to health concerns. Nominations must be submitted by August 21.
Margaret Alva, the opposition’s nominee the previous time, was defeated by Dhankhar.
Be the first to comment