A lot is at stake in this election, so the next politics will be prepared for both NDA and India blocks.
For the first time in this election, a lot is going to happen. One is the election being held in the history of independent India in the history of independent India. Secondly, if BJP-NDA candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan wins, which seems to be fixed from the current figures, for the first time a high official of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will reach the highest constitutional post of the country. Thirdly, the axis of the current political mobilization of the current era has been drawn to a clear ideology and constitutional commitments. Fourth, both candidates in the match, Radhakrishnan Tamil of NDA and former Supreme Court judge B.K. Sudarshan Reddy is from Telugu i.e. South India and at stake there are political equations. Fifth, the possibility of voting is less or strict mobilization based on the candidates except for the fifth, any camps. The sixth, more political essence than the election is emphasized and perhaps political equations can also get challenges. But all this will be revealed only after voting on 9 September.
Radhakrishnan, the candidate for the post of Vice President of BJP, is currently the Governor of Maharashtra and before that was the Governor of Jharkhand, when the ED team in Raj Bhavan reached the then Chief Minister Hemant Soren to arrest him in such a controversial case, which was later granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court saying that the case does not happen. Radhakrishnan has been a province pracharak of the RSS in Tamil Nadu, which is an elevated position in the Sangh’s hierarchy. He has been a member of the Lok Sabha twice from Coimbatore. He also has a very close relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In fact, when Modi was the Chief Minister in 2002, Radhakrishnan provided him a platform in Coimbatore after expressing his unhappiness of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the then NDA Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from his governance. Apart from this, he is from the main OBC caste Gounder, which has a special impact in the western part of Tamil Nadu, in which the party for some time to make inroads. Under the leadership of Annamalai and after that K.K. Palaniswami has been trying hard through an alliance with the AIADMK led by Palaniswami.
Radhakrishnan fits into the current BJP’s current. According to sources, Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot was also a strong contender. Gehlot is a prominent Dalit leader of Madhya Pradesh. But the emphasis of the top leadership of the party was on making inroads in the south and in the hundredth year of the establishment of the RSS, to hold any of its officials in the second number of the country. For the first time, the Prime Minister also appreciated the RSS in his address from the Red Fort on 15 August.
Venkaiah Naidu, who was the first Vice President from the BJP camp, came to BJP from ABVP, student organization of RSS. Apart from him, the late Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who was the Vice President from 2002 to 2007, was a volunteer of the RSS, but was not a senior RSS officer like Radhakrishnan. In this way, the power of Delhi also seems to give positive indication to Nagpur.
Of course, in his selection, Modi’s mind must have had an exercise to increase the party’s reach in the southern states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Tamil Nadu assembly elections are less than a year. As such, taking forward the Tamil leader of the RSS can be like a safe use in the Sangh Parivar politics.
Reddy of India Block
In the match, the opposition India Block, former Supreme Court Judge B.K. Sudarshan Reddy has been made a candidate. They are from Telangana, which was a part of undivided Andhra Pradesh. Therefore, the Chief Minister of Telangana has appealed to all the parties of Telangana and Andhra to vote in the name of Telugu Gaurav. Justice Reddy has never been associated with any party politics and as a judge has been famous for constitutional commitments. Then, at a time when the constitutional institutions are being accused of being favorable to the government, the former judge of the clean image can prepare a good nectar. Justice Reddy has described himself as an aggressive social democrats and constitutional values, which is contrary to the BJP’s ideological fabric.
In terms of current mathematics, the BJP is seen standing strong in this election. The electoral college for the post of Vice President has all the current MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The members of both houses currently have a number 782 and the victory figure is 392. The NDA has about 425 votes, which reach 436 with the support of the YSR Congress. This number is much higher than the winning figure. The total number of India block is 310. Even if all the other small parties are united, the opposition’s candidate will be left behind. This is the screw here. If Telugu Gaurav votes in Telugu Desam, YSR Congress, AIMIM MP Justice Reddy or some of his MPs cross-voting, the figure can reach the thorn. The Presidents of Parties are not released in the Vice President’s election and voting is secret. This possibility may be a situation like gritty for the ruling BJP.
Justice Reddy has a good relationship with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. For this reason, Naidu reached Delhi and all his MPs were also called at the time of meeting Modi. There is also speculation in the political corridors that the 130th Constitution Amendment Bill has also been brought to create pressure. In fact, the BJP’s concern is probably not as much about the victory as it is about the match. If this happens, then his political mathematics may be questioned. There are some panic within the BJP too and the party officials are calling every MP.
Not only this, efforts are being made from both sides to give a edge to ideological battles. Amit Shah has alleged that Naxalism would have ended in 2020 if Reddy had not given a decision against Salwa Judum in Chhattisgarh in 2011 as Supreme Court judge. In this way, they are trying to tell them the sympathizers of extreme left. In response, Reddy said that if Shah had read the decision of two judges of the Supreme Court, he did not say so. In this, the government was described as illegal to use any non-governmental militia, not to fight the government with naxalism.
This election is also a test of its solidarity for the opposition. In the 2022 election, Trinamool did not vote for the Congress candidate Margaret Alva. This time, party leaders are active in raising votes for Reddy. Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal has also made a statement in favor of Reddy.
So, it is certain that the nervous results of this election will not be limited. The first indication is that South is emerging as the next major theater of national politics. It is a part of the BJP’s strategy to make inroads in Tamil Nadu, so to field a Telangana jurist for the Congress is an attempt to increase credibility among the southern voters, especially minorities, intellectuals and the BJP’s majority trends.
The Vice President is the ex -officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, where the BJP does not have a majority. Modi’s reliable person will be on the posture as Radhakrishnan. The opposition will try to lose, remain a grave of occupation on institutions. So, this time the election has become important, as if the center equation is being tested.
