Kolkata: Former Supreme Court Justice Sudarshan Reddy has been announced as the combined candidate of the opposition for the upcoming Vice President. He will contest against the ruling NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan. The election to be held on September 9 is expected to create a field of intense political competition, as both camps are gathering support ahead of the polls.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge made the announcement on Tuesday. “The all-Indian Block parties have decided to keep a common candidate, the decision was taken unanimously. I am happy that all the opposition parties have agreed on one name. This is a big achievement for democracy,” Kharge said.
Justice Sudarshan Reddy (B. Sudarshan Reddy), born in July 1946, began his legal career after enrolling as a lawyer at the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh on December 27, 1971. He served as a public lawyer in the Andhra Pradesh High Court from 1988 to 1990 and also served as an additional permanent lawyer in the central government in 1990. He was also a legal advisor and a permanent lawyer at the University of Osmania.
Reddy was appointed a permanent judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on May 2, 1995 and became the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court on December 5, 2005. He was promoted to the Supreme Court on January 12, 2007 and held the post until his retirement on July 8, 2011. In March 2013, he took over as Goa’s first Lokayukta but resigned within seven months citing personal reasons.
Last week, the ruling NDA announced 67-year-old Radhakrishnan, an experienced BJP leader, as the Vice President. He is currently the Governor of Maharashtra and a resident of Tamil Nadu.
As the BJP-led NDA won a comfortable majority in the electoral colleges consisting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, Radhakrishnan’s victory amid the opposition India Block’s gesture is sure that they will field their own candidates and intensify their competition.
The election for the new vice president will be held on September 9 and the last date for submission of nominations is August 21. The vacancy was created after the current Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar announced his sudden resignation due to health concerns on July 21.
The parliamentary board includes party president JP Nadda, Union Minister Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Sarbananda Sonowal, former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, BL Santosh, National General Secretary (Organization), OBC Cell Head K Laxman, Sudha Yadav, Iqbal Singh Lalpura and Satyanarayan are national.