INDIA bloc has unanimously selected B Sudershan Reddy as the Vice Presidential candidate, informed Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday. Reddy will file his nomination on August 21.

In first reaction after nomination, Reddy said, “The aim is to uphold Constitution. I will appeal all political parties to vote for me. Responsibility of V-P is same as that of an SC judge.”

Who is B Sudershan Reddy?

Justice Reddy’s legal journey reflects a steady rise through the Indian judiciary, marked by decades of service across state and national institutions. Born on 8 July 1946, Reddy began his career after enrolling with the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh in December 1971. He quickly established himself in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, specialising in writ and civil matters.

His early years saw him shoulder key responsibilities for the government. As Government Pleader from 1988 to 1990, he represented the state in significant cases, before briefly serving as Additional Standing Counsel for the Central Government in 1990. He also acted as Legal Adviser and Standing Counsel for Osmania University, widening his legal portfolio.

Reddy’s judicial career formally began in 1995, when he was appointed a permanent Judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. A decade later, in December 2005, he was elevated as Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court. Just over a year later, in January 2007, he reached the country’s highest court, the Supreme Court of India.

Justice Reddy retired in July 2011.

Highighting Opposition unity in selecting V-P candidate, DMK MP Kanimozhi said, “This is an ideological fight. So the Opposition parties came together to select one candidate against the candidate who comes from RSS background. The candidate the Opposition has selected is the one who respects the Constitution…Just because you (BJP) have a candidate from Tamil Nadu, doesn’t mean you care about Tamil Nadu, Tamil language or values of the state…”

NDA nomiates C P Radhakrishnan

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced C P Radhakrishnan as the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) candidate for the vice-presidential election on Sunday.

Following this, the Opposition INDIA bloc held a crucial meeting on Monday evening to deliberate on its own nominee.

Meanwhile, C P Radhakrishnan, who currently serves as the Governor of Maharashtra, arrived in New Delhi on Monday. He met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who conveyed his best wishes, praising Radhakrishnan’s “long years of public service and experience across domains”.

PM Modi on Tuesday had requested the Opposition to back Radhakrishnan. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday also reached out to key regional leaders including DMK, BJD, TMC and YSRCP in a bid to secure wider backing for NDA vice-presidential nominee Radhakrishnan.