Opposition banks on ‘social justice’ card with V-P nominee Justice Sudershan Reddy, pitches it as ‘ideological battle’

In his capacity as head of the expert group, Reddy had interactions with senior Congress leadership, including Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, and reportedly left a good impression on them.

Sources said that a couple of days ago, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal spoke with Reddy, and the former judge said he would join the contest provided he was the unanimous choice of the Opposition.

Reddy is expected to be projected by the Opposition as a champion of social justice as opposed to Radhakrishnan, a veteran RSS leader. While his association with the Telangana caste survey is expected to help in that, Reddy is reportedly also informally helping the Congress’s Karnataka government design its caste survey, which is being done afresh.

Welcoming the nomination for Reddy, Gandhi, who is on a yatra in Bihar, posted on social media: “A distinguished jurist and champion of justice, he represents the spirit of our Constitution – safeguarding people’s rights, equality and our Democracy.”

Reddy arrived in Delhi Tuesday evening and was received at the airport by MPs from across Opposition parties. He will file his nomination on August 21. The joint Opposition will hold a meeting Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier, after the NDA named Radhakrishnan, belonging to Tamil Nadu, as its candidate, the DMK – eager to deny the BJP a chance to play the Tamil card in the state Assembly elections next year – proposed the name of former ISRO scientist and Padma Shri awardee M Annadurai. Sources said that the DMK, however, appeared to have not done much homework – the NDA candidate was announced on Sunday – and that Annadurai expressed reservations when approached by the party.

Another name the Opposition considered was of author Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, who was the choice of NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.

The second biggest party in the Opposition ranks, the Trinamool Congress, however, was reportedly not happy with the candidature of either Annadurai or Tushar. Sources said it felt that Annadurai’s nomination would be seen as just a “reaction” to the BJP move. It was also insistent that the candidate not be associated with any political party.

Given the lack of consensus around Annadurai and Tushar, Reddy came into the picture during late-night discussions held Monday by a handful of leaders.

After consensus was reached on Reddy, the Aam Aadmi Party, which is not a part of the INDIA bloc now but is on board for the Vice-President election, was consulted. Senior TMC leader Derek O’Brien met AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal Monday morning, and got his go-ahead.

Apart from Reddy’s strong credentials as a former Supreme Court judge and his social justice background, the Opposition is betting on putting pressure on key NDA ally TDA with the move. Opposition leaders specifically referred Monday to Reddy’s roots in undivided Andhra Pradesh, the TDP’s home turf.

However, in first reactions after the Opposition announced Reddy’s name, regional parties in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana appeared not too keen on backing him.

A native of Telangana who grew up in undivided Andhra Pradesh, Reddy joined the Bar in Hyderabad and was appointed as a permanent judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in May 1995. He moved as Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, before serving in the Supreme Court from 2007 to 2011.

Announcing Reddy’s candidature for the September 9 elections at a joint press conference with senior leaders of the Opposition, Kharge called him “one of India’s most distinguished and progressive jurists” and said he “has been a consistent and courageous champion of social, economic and political justice”.

Calling the Vice-President contest an “ideological battle”, Kharge said: “Reddy is a pro-poor man and from his many judgments you know how he has favoured the poor and also protected the Constitution and fundamental rights… (His candidature) reflects fully the values that shaped our country’s freedom movement and the values on which our country’s Constitution and democracy are anchored… All these values are under assault.”

The Congress president stressed that the decision on Reddy was “taken unanimously”. “I am happy that all Opposition parties agreed on one name. It is a big achievement for democracy.”

Sitting next to Kharge, O’Brien also made it a point to say that Reddy was the joint Opposition candidate and that the AAP was on board.

Senior DMK leader Kanimozhi later said the Opposition had come together against a BJP nominee with an RSS background. “This is an ideological fight. So the Opposition parties came together to select one candidate against the candidate who comes from an RSS background. The candidate the Opposition has selected is the one who respects the Constitution,” she said.

Hinting at Radhakrishnan, Kanimozhi added: “Just because you have a candidate from Tamil Nadu, does not mean you care about Tamil Nadu, Tamil language or values of the state.”

BJP’s counter

In a statement after the Opposition announced Reddy’s name, BJP MP Radha Mohan Das Aggarwal said Reddy had joined the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre (IMAC) of Hyderabad as a lifetime trustee in 2024 along with Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, and alleged that this trust was allotted 3.7 acres of land free by the state government in contravention of the Andhra Pradesh Alienation of State Land LRR 1975. This allotment was quashed by the Telangana High Court recently, he said.

“Didn’t you feel that a person of your stature… shouldn’t have accepted the Life Trusteeship of IAMC for its immoral act of illegal allotment of government land?” Aggarwal said.

The land in question was, in fact, allotted to the IMAC by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi government, with the CM of the state its ex-officio trustee.

The contest for the Vice-President’s post is expected to only be symbolic as the NDA has the numerical strength to ensure an easy victory for Radhakrishnan. The electoral college currently has 782 MPs, excluding the six vacancies. The winner needs to get 392 votes. The BJP-led NDA has 423 MPs, with 293 in the Lok Sabha and around 130 in the Rajya Sabha.

Additionally, the YSRCP, which is not a part of the NDA, and has 11 MPs (with 1 in jail), has announced its support for Radhakrishnan.