INDI Bloc Announces Former Supreme Court Judge B Sudershan Reddy As Vice-Presidential Candidate

Former Supreme Court Judge B. Sudershan Reddy has been named the INDI alliance candidate for the Vice President post.

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge held a press conference in Delhi to make the announcement. He was accompanied by other senior opposition leaders including Sharad Pawar, Derek O'Brien, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, Awadhesh Prasad, and Sanjay Raut.

At the conference, Kharge said, "B. Sudershan Reddy is one of India's most distinguished and progressive jurists. He has had a long and eminent legal career, including as judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, Chief Justice of Guwahati High Court and Judge of the Supreme Court. He has been a consistent and courageous champion of social, economic and political justice. He is a poor man and many judgments if you read, will know that how he favored the poor people and also protected the Constitution and fundamental rights."

"This vice-presidential contest is an ideological battle, and all the opposition parties agreed on this, and this is the reason we have nominated B Sudershan Reddy as the joint candidate," Kharge further said.

Regarding Reddy's nomination, Congress President Kharge said, "He will file his nomination on August 21. Tomorrow, all opposition parties' MPs are meeting in the central hall at 1 o'clock."

TMC MP Derek O'Brien stated that the decision on the vice-presidential candidate was unanimous among all opposition parties, including AAP, which has formally exited the INDI Alliance.

"All opposition parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party, are on board," Derek said.

DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said, "All political party leaders have decided this after analysing every aspect."

About Justice B Sudershan Reddy

Justice B Sudershan Reddy was born on July 8, 1946 and was enrolled as an advocate in Hyderabad with the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh on December 27, 1971. Justice Reddy has practised in Writ and Civil matters in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and worked as the Government Pleader in the High Court during 1988-90.

He also worked as Additional Standing Counsel for the Central Government for 6 months in 1990. He worked as Legal Adviser and Standing Counsel for Osmania University. He was appointed as a permanent Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on May 2, 1995.

Justice Reddy was later appointed as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court on December 5, 2005. He was later appointed as the Judge of the Supreme Court of India on January 12, 2008. Justice Reddy retired on July 8, 2011. B Sudershan Reddy will be contesting against National Democratic Alliance candidate CP Radhakrishnan.

About Vice Presidential Election

The Election Commission had earlier announced that polling for the Vice Presidential election would take place on September 9, with counting of votes scheduled for the same day.

The last date for filing nominations is August 21, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until August 25.

The Vice Presidential post fell vacant after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on July 21, citing health reasons.

The VP is elected by an electoral college, which consists of MPs from both houses of Parliament.

The elections of VP are governed by the provisions under Articles 64 and 68 of the Constitution. The Election Commission notifies the VP polls by the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952.

As per Article 66(1) of the Constitution of India, the election of the Vice President shall be held by the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot. 

Also Read: NDA Announces Maharashtra Governor C. P. Radhakrishnan As Vice-Presidential Candidate