VP Polls: A foregone contest, with cracks in Opposition unity

Election for the post of the Vice President of India must perhaps be the most pedestrian and prosaic of all elections in the nation, given that it is devoid of any possible thrills or spills and almost always has an expected outcome. It has been the invariable case that a candidate for this post-its importance resting on the fact that the Vice President also doubles as the ex-officio Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha-nominated by the ruling entity, is finally elected.

This too has been the case with the latest election for India's Vice President after the last incumbent, the pugnacious and often controversial Jagdeep Dhankhar, surprisingly resigned from the post. The erstwhile Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan, the NDA-nominated candidate, sailed through the election without any hiccups, securing 452 of the 754 first preference votes, thereby beating the Opposition candidate and retired Supreme Court Judge B Sudershan Reddy, who secured only 300 first preference votes.

If the Opposition could derive any consolation from the result, it is that the 150-vote margin was one of the lowest in the Vice Presidential polls, an oblique indication that the Opposition has enhanced its parliamentary strength since the last time when Dhankhar had defeated its candidate Margaret Alva in 2022 by almost 250 votes.

However, given that despite the inevitability of the outcome the Opposition bastion was shaken somewhat by cross-voting among its constituents, it must indeed be cold comfort! Prior to the election, the Congress claimed that the Opposition had 315 votes but its candidate got only 300.

The NDA actually had 427 votes this, together with the 11 votes of the YSR Congress, which was supporting it, should have made the votes cast in favour of its candidate 438, but he got 452, or 14 more votes. The cancellation of 15 votes also raised questions about Opposition unity.

Interestingly, though elected mid-term, Dhankhar's successor will serve a full five-year term in office. Considering that CP Radhakrishnan was a hardcore BJP politician with ideological links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, impartial observers will watch with interest how he performs in the Rajya Sabha.

It may be recalled that the Opposition's experience with Dhankhar had been none too pleasant, so the hope expressed by the Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge that the new Vice President-elect will uphold the highest ethos of parliamentary traditions, ensure equal space and dignity for the Opposition, and not succumb to the pressures of the ruling dispensation, might be mere wishful thinking!

One of the BJP's most important leaders in Tamil Nadu, Radhakrishnan was chosen with an eye on the BJP's expansion plans in the South, an area where the party has been unable to make much headway.