Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 26 : Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday met and extended his greetings to the INDIA bloc's Vice-Presidential nominee and former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy.
Earlier today, Sudershan Reddy was welcomed at the Lucknow Airport amid rousing uproar by supporters.
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 Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
In a statement released after filing his nomination, Justice (Retd.) Reddy said, "Today, 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 see a direct contest between Justice Reddy, backed by the INDIA bloc, and 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 said that the election for the Vice President is not a battle but a clash of ideology, while highlighting that he disagrees with the ideology and not C.P. 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 C.P. Radhakrishnan ji."
He added that he has nothing personal against NDA candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan, "There is nothing personal between C.P. 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..."