In a bid to avoid tussle within INDIA bloc parties over candidate from any political platform, Jairam Ramesh suggested a neutral candidate.
Published Aug 21, 2025 | 8:23 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 21, 2025 | 8:25 PM
Justice B Sudershan Reddy. (IAMC)
Synopsis: While the grand old party had to put up a fight with other INDIA bloc parties to zero-in on Reddy as Opposition VP candidate, his selection has left several within the party unhappy.
Opposition INDIA bloc’s candidate for Vice President, Justice (retd) B Sudershan Reddy filed his nomination on Thursday, 21 August.
Sources in Congress claim that Reddy will certainly enter the Rajya Sabha, if not as Vice President (chairperson of the Upper House of the parliament), then at least as an MP. This seems be an agreement between the Congress and Reddy.
Sudershan Reddy is no stranger to Congress. From his meeting with Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Telangana, to most recently helming the 11-member expert working group on caste census for Revanth Reddy government, Justice Reddy has been a calculative pick for the VP election.
Sources in INC suggest that Justice Reddy has been promised a Rajya Sabha seat at the earliest in a bid to convince him to contest an election where the numbers are already stacked against him.
Two Rajya Sabha seats from Telangana will fall vacant next year with terms of BRS’ KR Suresh Reddy and Congress’ Abhishek Manu Singhvi completing their respective terms. Congress has enough numbers to sail smoothly and intends to elevate Justice Reddy to the Upper House in case of a drubbing in the VP elections.
While the grand old party had to put up a fight with other INDIA bloc parties to zero-in on Reddy as Opposition VP candidate, his selection has left several within the party unhappy.
Sources suggest that within Congress, several leaders are of the view that the party erred by nominating a forward community member at a time its leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, are talking of caste census.
Picking Sudershan Reddy as a candidate for the INDIA bloc was not a cakewalk for Congress either. After a lot of discussion the Opposition decided they didn’t want anyone from DMK, lest they seem like copying the BJP and making it a Tamil vs Tamil contest.
Sources suggest, there were demands from TMC to nominate someone from their party as well. In a bid to avoid tussle within INDIA bloc parties over candidate from any political platform, senior AICC member Jairam Ramesh suggested a neutral candidate. Hence, Justice Sudershan Reddy’s name popped up.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
