V-P elections: NDA hopes to widen victory margin, INDIA bloc puts up ideological fight

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) The polling for Vice-Presidential elections, which commenced at 10 a.m., is set to conclude at 5 p.m. at the Parliament Complex, after which the counting of votes will begin at 6 p.m.

As the fiercely fought Vice-Presidential polls draw to a close, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is hoping to garner maximum support from allies as well as fence sitters, in a bid to gain a moral advantage over the Opposition candidate.

Numbers-wise, the scales are clearly tilted in NDA nominee C.P. Radhakrishnan's favour. However, the Congress-led INDIA bloc also put up a spirited fight to counter the BJP's narrative of putting upright and untainted individuals in one of the highest constitutional offices of the country.

For the INDIA bloc, this became an ideological battle as it pitched the elections as a one between the Opposition and RSS.

The respective candidates also sought to elicit public sentiments as the Opposition candidate Justice Sudershan Reddy described the elections as the one to "awaken people's conscience" while Radhakrishnan called the contest the one for pushing "nationalism and vision of Viksit Bharat".

The electoral college comprises a total of 788 lawmakers (543 Lok Sabha MPs and 245 Rajya Sabha MPs). Out of 245 members in the Upper House, the 12 nominated also have voting rights. However, the total voting strength stands at 781 due to 6 vacant RS seats and 1 vacant LS seat.

NDA is expected to command the support of 425 MPs, while that of the INDIA bloc stands at 324. With YSR Congress announcing support, the NDA's tally would cross past 435, while two other big parties, BRS and BJD, will remain neutral.

NDA's Radhakrishnan hopes to sail through the electoral race easily; however, it’s the margin on which all eyes are focused.

During Jagdeep Dhankhar's election as Vice President in 2022, the margin was more than 300-mark votes; however, this time it is unlikely to exceed the 100-150 mark.

With Radhakrishnan's personal rapport across parties and NDA's outreach to neutral parties and lawmakers, the latter hopes to seal a good numerical advantage over Reddy's candidature, as this would mean a measure of the former's growing clout.

Also, if NDA fetches a bigger victory margin in the Vice-Presidential polls, it will have a stronger moral weight over the INDIA bloc in Parliament - a symbolic but significant move in the optics game.

--IANS

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