The Vice Presidential election has stirred up political activity. This election usually takes place as a calm constitutional process. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA coalition has fielded CP Radhakrishnan, a senior party leader and the Governor of Maharashtra, in the race. The opposition has nominated Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy, a former judge of the Supreme Court, leading to a ‘South vs. South’ contest. CP Radhakrishnan comes from Tamil Nadu, and Sudarshan Reddy is from Andhra Pradesh. The key question now is who will win this intriguing contest?
Based on past Vice Presidential elections, the party in power at the center has generally secured a landslide victory. Following the BJP’s government in 2014, Jagdeep Dhankhar achieved the most significant victory. He defeated Margaret Alva, the opposition leader, by a record margin, representing the most substantial defeat for an opposition leader since 1997. Notably, since India gained independence, four Vice Presidents have been elected without opposition.