'An Ideological Battle': Why India Bloc Fielded Sudershan Reddy In VP Race

Last Updated:August 19, 2025, 15:45 IST

The INDIA bloc needed someone who could represent two core values — a defender of the Constitution and a figure acceptable across parties.

INDIA bloc members with Vice Presidential candidate Sudershan Reddy. (Image: AICC)

The Vice-Presidential election is all set to witness a contest that, while numerically tilted towards the ruling NDA, is being framed by the Opposition INDIA bloc as an ideological battle. Despite the clear numbers in Parliament — with the NDA commanding 293 votes against the Opposition’s 249 — the INDIA bloc has chosen to field former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy as their candidate. For them, this contest is less about arithmetic and more about symbolism.

A joint statement issued by the INDIA bloc declared that “the Vice-Presidential election is an ideological battle," underlining that Reddy embodies “the values that shaped our freedom movement." Senior leaders argue that the decision to contest was never in doubt. “Not fighting would have meant handing over a win on a platter to the NDA," a source said, adding that the Opposition wanted to send a message: in a political battlefield, it is vital to resist rather than surrender.

The choice of candidate was deliberate. The INDIA bloc needed someone who could represent two core values — a defender of the Constitution and a figure acceptable across parties. In Sudershan Reddy, they believe they have found both. A retired judge of the Supreme Court, Reddy has a long record of judgments upholding civil liberties. He has served as Lokayukta of Goa and as head of the Human Rights Commission, besides leading the caste survey committee in Telangana. For the Opposition, this record makes him an ideal candidate to be projected as a protector of rights, a voice of the common citizen, and someone who stands firmly to ensure that “Samvidhan khatre mein nahin hai (Constitution is not in danger)."

The INDIA bloc also sees this election as an opportunity to contrast its choice with the ruling NDA’s nominee, CP Radhakrishnan. With Radhakrishnan’s long-standing links to the RSS, the Opposition plans to frame the election as a contest of ideas — a battle between defending the Constitution and endorsing an ideology they have consistently opposed. Radhakrishnan’s reference to the Prime Minister and Home Minister as “beloved" in his first remarks after being nominated has further sharpened the Opposition’s resolve to challenge him.

The decision to field Reddy has also had a ripple effect within the alliance. The Aam Aadmi Party, which had walked out of the INDIA bloc earlier, has agreed to come on board for this election, a move insiders say was facilitated by the Trinamool Congress. The Congress, meanwhile, hopes to exploit regional ties by persuading members of the YSR Congress, based in Reddy’s home state, to reconsider their support for the NDA. While the ruling coalition is confident of YSRCP’s backing, sources in the Opposition claim that conversations are ongoing to test the waters.

Beyond the immediate election, the INDIA bloc views this as the first major battle in the Rajya Sabha. Their hostility towards the outgoing Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar — against whom they had moved a failed impeachment notice — has carried forward into this contest. To them, starting their resistance by confronting another nominee with a strong RSS background is both strategic and symbolic.

For the INDIA bloc, therefore, this election is not just about numbers on the floor but about drawing a political line. By backing Sudershan Reddy, they are attempting to frame the contest as a referendum on the Constitution itself — and on the ideology they claim threatens it.

News politics 'An Ideological Battle': Why India Bloc Fielded Sudershan Reddy In VP Race

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