Former Supreme Court judge Sudershan Reddy will take on NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan in the Vice-Presidential election scheduled for September 9.
New Delhi
The Opposition INDIA bloc on Tuesday announced former Supreme Court judge Justice Sudershan Reddy as its candidate for the upcoming Vice-Presidential election. He will contest against the ruling NDA’s nominee, CP Radhakrishnan, setting the stage for a symbolic political battle.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the decision to field a common candidate was unanimous among Opposition partners. “All INDIA bloc parties have agreed on one name. It is a big achievement for democracy,” he told reporters.
Who is Sudershan Reddy?
Born in July 1946, Justice Reddy enrolled as an advocate with the Andhra Pradesh Bar Council in 1971. He served as government pleader in the Andhra Pradesh High Court and briefly represented the Centre in 1990. Appointed a judge of the AP High Court in 1995, he later became Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court and was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2007. After retiring in 2011, he briefly served as Goa’s first Lokayukta.
NDA’s Candidate
The NDA has fielded 67-year-old CP Radhakrishnan, currently Maharashtra governor and a veteran BJP leader from Tamil Nadu. With the BJP-led alliance holding a comfortable majority in Parliament, his victory is seen as a foregone conclusion, though the Opposition aims to use the contest to present a united front.
Elections will be held on September 9, with nominations closing on August 21. The Vice-Presidential post fell vacant after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned citing health concerns.
