Beyond numbers: Vice-presidential contest morphs into Tamil-Telugu battle, but Bihar looms in the background

With the BJP fielding Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan and Opposition countering with ex Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy, the contest is no more about two personalities.

The vice-presidential election, which is usually a quiet constitutional exercise, has suddenly acquired the shape of a regional pride in the country's political battleground.

With the BJP fielding veteran party leader and Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan and the Opposition countering with ex Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy, the contest is no more about two personalities.

It now carries undertones of regional pride, alliance management, and signals ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

BJP’s southern experiment

By projecting Radhakrishnan, a well-known Tamil face, as the VP candidate for National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the BJP has clearly tried to stir sentiments in Tamil Nadu and created a dilemma for the DMK.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said, "A Tamilian has got an opportunity to become a VP. So all MPs from TN should support it, shedding political differences."

This was clearly aimed at the DMK. BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran also tried to add pressure and said, "It would not be fair to stay away when there was an opportunity for a Tamilian to reach new heights."

For a party that is still struggling to create space for itself in southern states, projecting a Tamil face for the second-highest constitutional post looked like a move that aimed at some political goals.

The Saffron party wants BJP as a party willing to elevate southern representation at the national level. CPI(M)Tamil Nadu secretary tried to underplay the Tamil sentiments in Radhakrishnan's nomination and said, "Tamils have already held posts of vice-president and President. So, there is nothing new here."

Opposition’s Telugu counter

The Opposition bloc, however, has tried to change the narrative. By pitching Justice Sudershan Reddy, a respected jurist from the Telugu region, they not only blunted BJP’s Tamil pitch but also sent an indirect message to the political players of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The choice highlighted two things: one, that the Opposition is willing to acknowledge aspirations of the people from South Indian states; and two, that it wants to test the comfort levels of regional parties that are officially outside the I.N.D.I.A. bloc but remain crucial players in national politics.

The Congress subtext

The Opposition bloc, however, has tried to change the narrative. By pitching Justice Sudershan Reddy, a respected jurist from the Telugu region, they not only blunted BJP’s Tamil pitch, but also sent an indirect message to the political players of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The choice highlighted two things: one, that the Opposition is willing to acknowledge aspirations of the people from South Indian states; and two, that it wants to test the comfort levels of regional parties that are officially outside the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, but remain crucial players in national politics.

At the heart of this decision to project someone from Telugu states lies Grand Old Party's own political calculations. Congress knows that Bihar is the immediate electoral priority, but national contests are often shaped by the shifting moods of regional satraps during and after respective Assembly elections.

Projecting a Telugu has also a very significant importance. Congress and UPA could come back to power in 2009 only because YS Rajasekhara Reddy delivered almost the entire undivided Andhra Pradesh in Congress' kitty. So, Congress understands the importance of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and will try to recreate the 2009 performance 20 years later in the 2029 Lok Sabha polls.

Telangana CM Revanth Reddy said that, "It's a matter of pride to announce Sudershan Reddy, a Telugu born into an agricultural family, as a candidate, beyond politics. It's the responsibility of every Telugu to ensure his victory..."

When asked about whether Tamil Nadu's non-NDA parties support Radhakrishnan and not Sudershan Reddy, he said that the same option is available for BJP legislators in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They should support a Telugu, he added.

He also invoked late former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and said, "leaders should unite and try to make Justice Sudershan Reddy win. After PV Narasimha Rao, Telangana didn't get such an opportunity..."

TDP, which has already struck a pragmatic political partnership with the BJP, might find Opposition’s move a reminder that alternatives exist if relations sour.

BRS, already struggling to find its foothold again in Telangana, might try to put itself as the real face of the Telangana cause by supporting Sudershan Reddy.

Bihar in the picture

Why does all this matter for Bihar? Because the state’s election will test whether the I.N.D.I.A. bloc can project a united face against a formidable NDA machine. Congress, the RJD, and Left parties know that winning Bihar requires not just arithmetic but also atmospherics. If regional outfits elsewhere appear even slightly warmer to the Opposition, it strengthens the narrative that the NDA is not unassailable. Every symbolic crack matters.

If Congress manages to get Chandrababu Naidu's TDP and BRS on its side in the name of regional pride, and I.N.D.I.A. bloc manages Nitish Kumar to join them post-Bihar elections, then what seems to be a strong alliance in Delhi might start shaking a bit.

Seen narrowly, the vice-presidential contest is unlikely to alter parliamentary numbers, as the NDA retains a majority. But politics is rarely about arithmetic alone. The Congress’s choice of Sudershan Reddy is less about winning the post and more about winning perception battles, especially in the South and indirectly in Bihar.

By putting the BJP on the defensive among its allies and reminding fence-sitters that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc has space for regional voices, Congress is trying to work on the long-term gameplan.

The outcome of the election may be predictable, but what new political alignments the country will see is an interesting thing to wait for. The ripple effects could well shape alliances in the run-up to Bihar and beyond.