New Delhi: India Block hopes that the element of Telugu pride will play an important role in the Vice Presidential election to be held on September 9. NDA candidate for the Vice Presidential election C.P. Radhakrishnan is pitted against opposition candidate Justice B Sudarshan Reddy.
Radhakrishnan is from Tamil Nadu while Justice Reddy is from Andhra Pradesh. Telugu is the state language of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
Soon after Justice Reddy was made the opposition candidate, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy urged all political parties of both Telugu-speaking states, such as BRS, TDP and YSRCP, to support the former Supreme Court judge in the name of linguistic pride.
The BRS, which ruled Telangana from 2014 to 2023, is a staunch rival of the ruling Congress in Telangana, while the YSRCP is the main opposition party to the ruling TDP in Andhra Pradesh. The TDP, led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, is part of the NDA, while the YSRCP, led by Jagan Mohan Reddy, has also been supporting the ruling coalition at the Centre for political reasons.
Later, both the TDP and the YSRCP announced their support to the NDA candidate, citing national interest rather than regional interests. However, this did not dampen the hopes of Congress leaders who believe that the element of Telugu pride still exists in the vice-presidential election.
According to Congress insiders, YSRCP Rajya Sabha MP Raghunath Reddy met party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on August 21, triggering speculation that some brainstorming is going on within the regional party over the upcoming vice-presidential election.
Besides, the manager of India Block accompanied Justice Reddy, who went to seek support from former Delhi chief minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal too had raised the issue of Telugu pride, which could put both Naidu and Jagan in trouble after the announcement of support to Tamil-speaking Radhakrishnan.
The meeting took place after Justice Reddy met opposition members at the Old Parliament House. Though AAP member Sanjay Singh attended the conference, Kejriwal’s support indicated that the former Supreme Court judge was more of an opposition candidate than an India Bloc candidate.
According to Congress insiders, this gave Justice Reddy wider acceptance among regional parties. According to party insiders, Justice Reddy may meet Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Naidu to seek his support and may also talk to former Chief Minister Jagan Reddy.
The YSRCP has four Lok Sabha and seven Rajya Sabha members. The BRS has no member in the lower house but has four Rajya Sabha members. The TDP has 16 members in the Lok Sabha and two in the Rajya Sabha.
D Rudra Raju, permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee, told ETV Bharat, “The issue of Telugu pride is relevant. Regional parties in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh should support opposition candidate Justice Reddy in the vice-presidential election. There is a strong sentiment here at the local level. Our candidate is an eminent jurist and a non-political person. He has been talking about social justice and parliamentary democracy for a long time. He is likely to meet Chief Minister Naidu and may also call Jagan Reddy to seek support.”
Former Andhra Pradesh Congress president Raju said the vice-presidential election was less an ideological battle than a numerical one, but added that the opposition candidate could spring a surprise. “The vice-presidential election is not a numerical one, but an ideological battle for us against the NDA. Still, there could be a surprise,” he said.
According to AICC secretary in-charge of Telangana P Vishwanathan, the vice-presidential election was more a secular versus fundamentalist issue than a regional issue. Vishwanathan told ETV Bharat, “The vice-presidential election is more about secular opposition candidate Justice Reddy versus NDA’s Radhakrishnan, who is associated with the RSS. It is less about regionalism.” The AICC functionary criticised the BRS over the issue, saying the Telangana-based party was colluding with the BJP.
Meanwhile, Kharge also reached out to ailing BJD chief Naveen Patnaik and not only enquired about his health but also sought the former Odisha chief minister’s support in the vice-presidential election. The BJD has 7 members in the Rajya Sabha and none in the Lok Sabha. In state politics, the ruling BJP is the main rival of both the BJD and the Congress. In Parliament, the BJD takes a neutral stand.
