C.P. Radhakrishnan, the Vice-Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), officially filed his nomination papers on Wednesday, and the countdown for the high-stakes election began.
Radhakrishnan was accompanied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while filing, supported by senior Union ministers such as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and other top NDA leaders.
Radhakrishnan's nomination was submitted in four different sets, each being supported by 20 proposers and 20 seconders. PM Modi was the chief proposer, signing and submitting the first set, and the remaining sets were supported by other Union ministers and NDA leaders.
The filing of the nomination was regarded as an important moment for the BJP-led NDA, emphasizing its strength and cohesion. A number of top leaders from the NDA, such as Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, and Anupriya Patel, were there to demonstrate their solidarity.
In terms of numbers, NDA nominee Radhakrishnan enjoys a clear lead over INDIA bloc nominee Sudarshan Reddy.
The Lok Sabha has 543 members at present while the Rajya Sabha has 233 out of 245. The BJP has 240 MPs in the Lower House while there are 102 MPs in the Upper House. The allied support takes NDA's strength to 421 — 298 in the Lok Sabha and 128 in the Rajya Sabha.
On the other hand, the INDIA bloc parties collectively possess 235 Lok Sabha MPs and 77 Rajya Sabha MPs, amounting to 312. Adding the Aam Aadmi Party's 11 MPs to their count, their total strength amounts to 325.
Moreover, the YSR Congress Party has extended their support to the NDA candidate. Sharing their 11 MPs, Radhakrishnan's support increases to 433, making his strong dominance over the INDIA bloc candidate even stronger.
In the meantime, the BJP has urged opposition parties in Tamil Nadu to "correct their historic blunder" by backing Radhakrishnan, alluding to the period when APJ Abdul Kalam was in office and they refused to support him for his second term as President.
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