‘Ideological Battle’: Ex-SC Judge Sudershan Reddy is INDIA Bloc’s VP Candidate

The opposition INDIA bloc on Tuesday named former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy as its joint candidate for the upcoming Vice Presidential election, setting the stage for a direct contest against the NDA’s nominee, CP Radhakrishnan. Announcing the decision, the opposition framed the election as an “ideological battle,” signaling its intent to challenge the ruling alliance rather than allow an uncontested election for the country’s second-highest constitutional post.

Making the announcement after a meeting of opposition leaders, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge described the nomination as a unified decision based on principle. “This vice-presidential contest is an ideological battle, and all the opposition parties agreed on this, and this is the reason we have nominated B Sudershan Reddy as the joint candidate,” Kharge stated.

He lauded Reddy as one of India’s most distinguished and progressive jurists, highlighting his long and eminent legal career and his role as a “consistent and courageous champion of social, economic and political justice.” Kharge added, “He is a poor man, and many judgments, if you read, will know how he favoured the poor people and also protected the Constitution and fundamental rights.”

Justice Reddy served as a judge of the Supreme Court until his retirement in 2011. Before his elevation to the apex court, he was the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court and had also served as a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Following his retirement from the judiciary, he was appointed as the first Lokayukta of Goa in March 2013, a position he resigned from in October of the same year on personal grounds. The opposition’s move to field a candidate comes after the ruling NDA had appealed to various parties to support its nominee, CP Radhakrishnan, in a bid to forge a consensus.