The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), led by former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, will abstain from voting in the Vice Presidential elections to be held on Tuesday, September 9. The party's Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra has announced that the party will abstain from voting in tomorrow's Vice Presidential elections. He said that the BJD remains neutral, maintaining an equal distance from both the BJP-led NDA and INDIA alliances. Patra further stated that the party's primary focus is on the development and welfare of Odisha and its 4.5 crore people.
"Biju Janata Dal has decided to abstain from the vice presidential elections tomorrow. The Biju Janata Dal remains equidistant from both the NDA and INDIA alliances. We are focused on the development and welfare of Odisha and 4.5 crore people of Odisha," he said.
B Sudershan Reddy vs CP Radhakrishnan
The election, scheduled for September 9, will witness a direct contest between Justice (Retd.) B Sudershan Reddy, backed by the INDIA bloc, and the NDA's nominee, CP Radhakrishnan. The BJD has seven members in the Rajya Sabha. The party has no member in the Lok Sabha. The BJD in the past have bailed out the NDA government several times and backed their nominees during the 2022 presidential and vice-presidential polls.
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. The Vice President is elected through an electoral college, which consists of MPs from both houses of Parliament. The election of the Vice President is governed by the provisions under Articles 64 and 68 of the Constitution.
The Election Commission notifies the Vice-Presidential polls by the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952.As per Article 66(1) of the Constitution of India, the election of the Vice President shall be held by the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote, and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.
