New Delhi: In a major political development, opposition parties have fielded former Supreme Court judge Sudarsan Reddy as their candidate for the Vice Presidential elections, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging support for NDA nominee C.P. Radhakrishnan. The announcement was made by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge. The NDA, led by the BJP, had nominated Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan for the post, which became vacant following the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar last month due to health reasons. The elections are scheduled for September 9, with the last date for filing nominations set for August 21.
Sudarsan Reddy: A Legal Luminary
Born on July 8, 1946, in Akula Mailaram village, Ranga Reddy district, Telangana, Sudarsan Reddy hails from an agricultural family. He studied in Hyderabad and earned his law degree from Osmania University in 1971. Reddy enrolled as an advocate in the Andhra Pradesh Bar Council on December 27, 1971, practicing civil and constitutional law in the Andhra Pradesh High Court. He served as government pleader in 1988, later as Additional Standing Counsel for the central government, and became president of the Andhra Pradesh High Court Advocates Association in 1993. He was appointed Additional Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on May 2, 1993, Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court on December 5, 2005, and elevated to the Supreme Court on January 12, 2007. He retired on July 8, 2011, and briefly served as Goa’s first Lokayukta in 2013 before resigning due to personal reasons.
#BreakingNews | INDIA Bloc announces ex-Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy as their unanimous Vice-Presidential candidate against NDA's choice, C.P. Radhakrishnan#VicePresidentalCandidate #BSudershanReddy | @ShivaniGupta_5 pic.twitter.com/Ks7C5n3i8z
— News18 (@CNNnews18) August 19, 2025
YS Jagan Receives Call from Rajnath Singh
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party chief Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy was contacted by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, seeking support for Radhakrishnan in the Vice Presidential elections. The call, made on the recommendation of Prime Minister Modi, urged Jagan to back Radhakrishnan for a unanimous election. The YSR Congress has four MPs in the Lok Sabha and seven in the Rajya Sabha. Although the party has historically supported NDA-endorsed constitutional appointments, the current coalition government in Andhra Pradesh has made Jagan’s decision a matter of keen public attention.