New Delhi [India], September 9 : As the 15th Vice Presidential contest is set to begin, Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said that the country awaits an address from former Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankar, who resigned on July 21, citing health reasons.
However, Ramesh argued that Dhankar's "unprecedented and unexpected" resignation was after he raised concerns about neglect of farmers by the Narendra Modi government in the centre.
"For 50 days now, Jagdeep Dhankar has maintained an uncharacteristic silence. Today as the election for his successor gets underway, the nation continues to wait for him to speak out after his unprecedented and unexpected resignation as VP following the expression of his concerns on the deep neglect of farmers by the Modi Govt, on the dangers posed by 'ahankar' of those in power, etc," Ramesh, General Secretary in-charge of Communications in Congress, posted on X.
The opposition has time and again claimed that Dhankar has been "silenced" and has enquired about his whereabouts. It was Dhankar's registration that triggered the race for the Vice Presidential elections.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Sachin Pilot told reporters in Raipur, "Why are the Vice Presidential elections being held? Where is the former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar?"
"NDA has to work very hard to prove its majority in the elections, as the INDIA alliance's Vice Presidential candidate, B Sudershan Reddy, is very strong. I am hopeful that the results will be in our favour," he added.
The counting of the votes is scheduled for this evening.
The stage is set for a contest between Radhakrishnan and retired Supreme Court Judge B Sudershan Reddy, who has been named as the joint opposition candidate for the Vice President's post.
Both the BJP-led NDA and opposition parties held mock polls ahead of the crucial day, telling the MPs to be cautious in exercising their franchise lest their vote be invalid.
It seems that NDA's candidate CP Radhakrishnan has an edge with 427 MPs, well above the majority mark of 391, supporting him for the post.
A BJP leader had said that the NDA candidate is expected to garner at least 427 votes.
In the Lok Sabha, Radhakrishnan is expected to receive 293 votes, and 134 votes are likely to be cast in his favour in the Rajya Sabha.
Joint opposition candidate Reddy is backed by 354 MPs, with 249 in the lower house and 105 in the upper house of the Parliament.
Currently, the Parliament comprises 781 members, including 542 in the Lok Sabha with one seat vacant and 239 in the Rajya Sabha with five seats vacant.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has decided to abstain from voting in the Vice Presidential elections. Meanwhile, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) will not take part in the Vice Presidential poll.
Moreover, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) announced that it will "boycott" the Vice Presidential election, given that people in Punjab are "upset and angry" over no help from the central or state government.