The INDIA alliance has declared its nominee for the upcoming Vice Presidential election, naming former Supreme Court judge and Goa’s first Lokayukta, Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, as its candidate. He will face the NDA’s pick, C.P. Radhakrishnan.
Announcing the decision on Tuesday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that all alliance partners had unanimously endorsed Reddy’s name, describing the election as an “ideological battle.”
Some allies, including the Trinamool Congress, had earlier pushed for a non-political choice, after which the bloc decided on Reddy in an effort to highlight unity.
Justice Reddy brings with him an extensive legal career. He enrolled as an advocate with the Andhra Pradesh Bar Council in 1971, specializing in writ and civil matters. Between 1988 and 1990, he served as a government counsel in the Supreme Court and also briefly functioned as Additional Standing Counsel for the Union government.
He was appointed a permanent judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 1995, went on to become Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court in 2005, and was later elevated to the Supreme Court in 2007 before retiring in 2011.
The Vice Presidential election is scheduled for September 9, setting the stage for a direct contest between Radhakrishnan and Reddy.
