Although the post of Vice President is not as prestigious as that of President or Prime Minister, its importance cannot be ignored.

BJP again shows political wizardry in Radhakrishnan's election Editorial: C.P. Radhakrishnan's election as the Vice President of India was a certainty from the beginning. This certainty turned into reality on Tuesday. The calculation of the constitutionally determined electoral college (total number of members of Rajya Sabha + Lok Sabha) for this election was such that the ruling NDA candidate was bound to win the election. The current strength of the members of both the Houses is 781. Out of this, 427 votes were certain for the NDA. Therefore, there was no scope for the victory of the opposition front 'India' candidate Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy. The only topic of interest on the voting day was cross-voting. In this regard, the election administrators of the ruling NDA again proved to be more efficient. Mr. Ramachandran got 452 votes, more than the estimate of 428-440. Congress chief spokesperson Jairam Ramesh is describing the 300 votes received by Justice Reddy as a moral victory of the opposition on the basis that in 2022, the opposition candidate for the post of Vice President, Mrs. Margaret Alva, had received only 126 votes. While making such a claim, he forgot what the actual composition of the Lok Sabha was in 2022 and that at that time the Modi government had almost a three-fourth majority there. Now the Modi government has only a simple majority in the Lok Sabha. It is not politically in a position to play the 2022 drum of its supremacy. Still, it managed to invalidate 15 votes and break through so many opposition lines. This shows that apart from the real victory, the moral victory also belonged to the ruling party.

Political analysts believe that Mr. Radhakrishnan's personal personality also contributed to making the above manipulation possible. He hails from Tamil Nadu, has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since the age of 16; has also been the state BJP president and has won the Lok Sabha elections twice from the Coimbatore constituency; his tenure as Governor of two states, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, was free from controversies. Apart from these elements, he is known in the administrative and legislative circles as a moderate and humble personality. The BJP constituencies claim that these qualities won Mr. Radhakrishnan the votes of the opposition in the states of Jharkhand and Maharashtra. On the other hand, the opposition candidate Justice Reddy is also a calm personality. His grasp of legal nuances is also unparalleled. But in terms of political and legislative experience, he was not on Mr. Radhakrishnan's side. The Vice President of India is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The experience of legislative work is a great help in discharging the responsibilities of the Speaker in a proper manner. Mr. Radhakrishnan was on a firmer footing in this regard. This ability also worked in his favor. Apart from these facts, the skill of political manipulation also came in handy for the BJP. The party leadership learned to take steps after a while from the Jagdeep Dhankhar resignation incident. Mr. Radhakrishnan's nomination as a candidate was the product of a deep political exercise. He is a South Indian; he belongs to the Gondar community, which is a backward class, and he is educated. The President of the country, Draupadi Murmu, is a tribal, the Vice President is from a backward class and then the Prime Minister is also from the same class. Such political algebra is going to directly neutralize the propaganda of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that the BJP is not a benefactor of the oppressed classes. Neither the Congress nor its allies showed such political acumen.

Although the post of Vice President is not as prestigious as that of President or Prime Minister, its importance cannot be ignored. In the event of the death of the President, the Vice President plays the role of overseeing and leading the nation. After the untimely death of the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed in February 1977, all the responsibilities of the President were performed by the then Vice President B.D. Jati until the election of a new President in July 1977. Earlier in 1968, when V.V. Giri relinquished the post of Vice President and contested the Presidential election, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Muhammad Hidayatullah, had to temporarily perform the functions of the President along with the post of Vice President. C.P. While the country has got its 15th Vice President due to Radhakrishnan's victory, the breach in the ranks of the opposition through this election is also going to give new impetus to the BJP and NDA cadre politically. The NDA also needed such a boost in the context of the Bihar assembly elections.