439-324 on paper: NDA's C P Radhakrishnan ahead; I.N.D.I.A. eye cross-voting edge in Vice Presidential poll

New Delhi: With preparations for holding the Vice Presidential election on Tuesday in the final leg, both the ruling NDA and the Opposition are locked in an intense battle even as 18 MPs, including from BJD and BRS, are yet to open their minds on whom they will vote for.

On paper, the NDA nominee Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan is convincingly ahead against the joint Opposition candidate former Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy with a score 439-324 if all MPs vote on party lines and without considering where the undecided lot will tilt.

Seven MPs from BJD, four from BRS, one each from Akali Dal, ZPM and VOTTP as well as three independents are yet to give a clear indication of their preference. The number of voters at present is 781, with seven vacancies, including Shibu Soren who died after the electoral roll was prepared.

BJD’s Sasmit Patra and BRS’ K Suresh Reddy told DH separately that a decision will be taken by the party leadership at an appropriate time while ZPM and VOTTP MPs have not responded to queries on who they will respond to. The independent MPs and the lone Akali Dal lawmaker could not be contacted.

While AAP, which has left the I.N.D.I.A bloc, has pledged support of its ten MPs to Justice Reddy, non-aligned 11-member YSR Congress has pledged support for Radhakrishnan. Both sides are hoping for cross-voting, as it is a secret vote, that will enhance their narrative.

Pitching the battle as one of Constitution versus RSS-BJP, the Opposition has been targeting TDP, YSR Congress, and Janasena MPs by referring to Justice Reddy being a Telugu and other political reasons.

On Sunday, Congress Lok Sabha Whip Manickam Tagore referred to YSR Congress Lok Sabha floor leader Mithun Reddy getting bail in a case and asked him whether he would vote for the candidate of TDP and BJP, which sent him to jail or Justice Reddy, who is fighting to protect the Constitution.

Sources said the Opposition is in for a fight and irrespective of the results, it believes its narrative will have a resonance, as it anticipates some cross-voting.

If all 324 Opposition votes are cast and even if they lose, it would be the highest for a losing candidate, as the previous record was that of Sushil Kumar Shinde in 2002 when he bagged 305 against winner Bhairon Singh Shekhawat’s 454, the tightest Vice President polls so far.

Incidentally, the NDA candidate is unlikely to cross 500 votes this time. In the 2022 elections when Trinamool Congress MPs did not cast their votes, Jagdeep Dhankhar had garnered 528 votes while his predecessor M Venkaiah Naidu got 516 votes.

While the BJP has already started training its MPs on how to cast their vote in the preferential system of polling, the Opposition is holding a “mock poll” on Monday at Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan. A dinner hosted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at Parliament Annexe was initially planned but later it was cancelled.

Holding two back-to-back meetings over the weekend, the Congress has appointed coordinators for every 15 party MPs to coordinate their arrival in Delhi, attending mock polls, and actual voting. Separate Congress teams have also been appointed for coordinating with allies.

One of the concerns for the election managers for both sides is invalid votes and they expect the mock drills and training sessions would help MPs understand the electoral proceedings well. In 2022, there were 15 invalid votes while it was 11 in 2017. The highest invalid votes was in 1997 when 46 MPs got their votes invalidated.

According to Article 66(1) of the Constitution, the Vice Presidential election will be held in accordance with the proportional representation system by means of the single transferable vote.

In this system, the voter, in this case an MP, has to mark preferences against the name of candidates and it can be marked in the international form of Indian numerals, in Roman form, or in any recognised form of Indian languages.

Preference has to be marked in figures only and shall not be indicated in words. The elector can mark as many preferences as the number of candidates. Marking the first preference is compulsory for the ballot paper to be valid while other preferences are optional.

The Election Commission will supply particular pens to the MPs for marking their preferences. Voters will be given this pen by a designated official along with the ballot paper. Electors have to mark the ballot paper with this particular pen and nothing else. Voting by using any other instrument shall lead to invalidation of the vote at the time of counting.