New Delhi [India], August 27 : The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Wednesday extended its support for retired Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy's candidature in the upcoming Vice Presidential election.
CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby described the Vice Presidential poll as a "political, ideological, and cultural struggle" that has brought the Opposition together behind Sudershan Reddy's candidature.
"Reddy's legacy is well known. We are proud that CPI (M) is part of the move of the opposition to field a highly competent and eligible citizen of our country to defend India's constitutional values and idea of India, which is systematically being assaulted and eroded," the CPI(M) General Secretary said.
The Opposition's vice-presidential candidate, Reddy, expressed gratitude to the Politburo and the cadre of the CPI(M) for supporting his candidature, while assuring that he will work to protect the Constitution of India.
"I assure that if given an opportunity, I'll make every possible effort to defend and to protect the Constitution of India. I express my gratitude to the CPI-M political party for its invaluable support. It means a lot to me," Reddy said at a press conference.
Reddy was also facilitated by the Communist Party of India (CPI) and its General Secretary, D Raja, at the party's office in Delhi today.
Earlier, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav met and extended his greetings to the INDIA bloc's Vice-Presidential nominee and former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy on Tuesday.
On August 21, opposition INDIA bloc's Vice-Presidential nominee and former Supreme Court Judge B. Sudershan Reddy filed his nomination papers for the upcoming election, describing the moment as an honour and pledging to discharge the role with impartiality, dignity, and a steadfast commitment, if elected.
Reddy submitted the nomination in the presence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
In a statement released after filing his nomination, Justice (Retd.) Reddy said, "I had the honour of filing my nomination papers for the office of the Vice President of India as a joint candidate of the Opposition parties. I did so with a deep sense of humility, responsibility, and unwavering commitment to the values enshrined in our Constitution."
The election for the Vice President of India will feature a direct contest between Justice Reddy, backed by the INDIA bloc, and the NDA's nominee, C P Radhakrishnan.
The Election Commission had earlier announced that polling for the Vice Presidential election would take place on September 9, with counting to take place the same day. The Vice Presidential post fell vacant after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on July 21, citing health reasons.
Recently, Sudershan Reddy stated that the election for Vice President is not a battle but a clash of ideologies, while highlighting that he disagrees with the ideology, not CP Radhakrishnan, the NDA candidate for the position.
While talking to ANI, Sudershan Reddy said, "This is not a battle, it is a clash of ideas... The other side was propagating that there is a person here who has been a full member of the RSS all his life, so I disagree with that ideology, not with CP Radhakrishnan."
He added that he has nothing personal against NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan, "There is nothing personal between CP Radhakrishnan and me. We have never even met each other. So I wanted this to be a decent contest, not between individuals but between two different ideologies."