Opposition nominee B Sudershan Reddy on Thursday formally filed his nomination for the upcoming vice-presidential election in the presence of senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi. Reddy, a former Supreme Court judge, submitted four sets of nomination papers before the Rajya Sabha Secretary General, who also serves as the returning officer for the election.
Prominent opposition leaders including NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, SP leader Ramgopal Yadav, DMK’s Tiruchi Siva, TMC’s Satabdi Roy, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sanjay Raut, and CPI(M)’s John Brittas were also present during the filing. As many as 160 MPs signed as proposers and seconders for Reddy’s candidature.
The electoral college for the vice-presidential election consists of 781 members from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, including nominated members of the Upper House. The majority mark required is 391 votes.
The ruling NDA has nominated C P Radhakrishnan, who is expected to have an edge with the support of at least 422 members. Non-INDIA bloc parties, including the YSRCP, have already pledged support to the NDA nominee.
