Ready to Seek BJP’s Backing: What Opposition VP Candidate Sudarshan Reddy Said

Opposition’s Vice-Presidential candidate B. Sudarshan Reddy has appealed to all MPs from both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha to support him in the upcoming election, saying his candidature should be judged on merit and not party lines.

Questions on the Voter List and the Spirit of Democracy

He also raised questions on the special intensive revision of the voter list and argued that being in the majority does not give anyone the right to act arbitrarily. He said, “I have sent letters to all the members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha to consider my candidature on merit, and if the top leaders of BJP allow, I am ready to meet them and seek their support. Reddy further added, “What is this SIR… this is a new problem… there may be a special amendment… there is no dispute that the voter list should be updated and the names of those who are no longer with us should be deleted, but what is this exclusion from the list… democracy is not just about votes; being in the majority does not give one the power to do anything.”

Constitution, Justice, and Equality

Reddy also alleged violation of the provisions of the Constitution, which he described as a "Triveni Sangam" (confluence of three rivers), and said that everyone must know its history, text, and structure. He said that the Constitution talks about equality and justice – social, economic, and political – and upholds two important values of fraternity and the dignity of the individual. He also targeted the Centre and alleged that Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was harassed and his dignity was hurt. He asked, “What happened to the trust and confidence expressed (by the people) in Hemant Soren and his cabinet colleagues when he was put in jail without any solid reason?”

‘South vs South’ Battle in Vice-Presidential Election

The Vice-Presidential election, scheduled for September 9, will be a contest between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan and the opposition’s joint candidate Reddy. This contest is being described as a ‘South vs South’ battle, since both candidates hail from South India. While Radhakrishnan is a senior leader of BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit, Telangana-born Reddy is a former judge of the Supreme Court. On Saturday evening, in a post on ‘X’, Soren conveyed his best wishes to Reddy for the Vice-Presidential election. He wrote, “Today in Ranchi we met the opposition alliance ‘INDIA’ candidate for the Vice-President post, former judge Balakrishna Sudarshan Reddy. Congratulations and best wishes to you for the upcoming Vice-Presidential election. Protection of democratic and constitutional values is paramount. In another post, Jharkhand Congress in-charge K. Raju wrote, “Today in Ranchi, I met Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the opposition alliance’s candidate for the Vice-President election, Justice (Retd.) Balakrishna Sudarshan Reddy, and participated in a joint press conference. Chief Minister Hemant Soren extended his support, congratulations, and best wishes to him for the protection of democratic and constitutional values.”