‘Serious Matter’: Congress's Manish Tewari Calls For Probe Over Cross-Voting Claims In VP Polls

Last Updated:September 10, 2025, 18:59 IST

Manish Tewari's remarks came amid rising speculation following CP Radhakrishnan’s victory, which saw the INDIA bloc’s vote tally fall short by 15.

Congress MP Manish Tewari (Image: PTI/File)

The allegations of cross-voting by the opposition’s INDIA bloc MPs in the recently concluded Vice Presidential elections have triggered a political row, with Congress MP Manish Tewari calling for a systematic and thorough investigation by each constituent of the alliance.

His remarks come amid rising speculation following the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate CP Radhakrishnan’s victory, which saw the INDIA bloc’s vote tally fall short by 15.

Tewari said that such cross-voting is a serious betrayal of trust and called the opposition’s internal unity into question.

“If there was cross-voting, then it should be seriously investigated by each of the constituents of the INDIA Alliance. Cross-voting is an extremely serious matter. If at all, what you are saying is correct or what is appearing in the public space or is being speculated has an iota of truth in it, it deserves a systematic and clinical investigation," Tewari told news agency ANI.

The Congress MP’s response came after BJP leaders, including Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and BJP General Secretary BL Santhosh, took “conscience" swipe at the opposition over the probability of cross-voting by the INDIA bloc MPs, where NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan emerged victorious.

In a post on X, Rijiju “thanked" the opposition MPs who, according to him, cross-voted in favour of NDA’s CP Radhakrishnan, saying that NDA and “all our friendly MPs" remain united as they voted with “conscience".

“Special thanks to some MPs of- INDI Alliance who voted with ‘Conscience’ for NDA candidate @CPRGuv ji in the VP election. NDA and All our friendly MPs remain united. Congratulations to everyone on electing a humble & efficient man and a true patriot as India’s new Vice President," Rijiju said in a post on X.

Additionally, BJP leader BL Santhosh claimed that the INDIA bloc candidate, Justice (redt,) B Sudershan Reddy, received 15 fewer votes than their total number as claimed by the opposition.

CP Radhakrishnan Becomes India’s 15th VP

NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan was elected as the 15th Vice President of India on Tuesday, bagging 452 votes against the Opposition nominee and former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy’s 300 votes.

Announcing the result, Rajya Sabha Secretary General and Returning Officer PC Mody said 767 MPs out of 781 cast their votes with a total turnout of 98.2%. He said 752 ballots were valid and 15 were invalid, bringing down the required majority of first preference votes to 377.

The victory margin was a setback to the Opposition, which had claimed that all its 315 MPs remained united in the election and voted for Reddy. Radhakrishnan’s margin was bigger than expected, with the BJP claiming that he drew support even from the rival camp.

The BJP-led NDA had on paper 427 MPs in its alliance, with the YSR Congress also extending the support of its 11 MPs to its candidate. Some MPs representing smaller parties also backed Radhakrishnan. BJP leaders claimed that at least 15 opposition MPs voted in favour of Radhakrishnan. There were hints from the ruling alliance that some Opposition MPs deliberately cast invalid votes.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed that the opposition’s performance in the Vice Presidential election was “respectable," noting that its joint candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy (retd) secured 40 per cent of the vote.

Ramesh contrasted the result with the 2022 Vice Presidential polls, when the Opposition’s share was 26 per cent.

(With inputs from agencies)

Shobhit Gupta

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben...Read More

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben...

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News politics ‘Serious Matter’: Congress's Manish Tewari Calls For Probe Over Cross-Voting Claims In VP Polls

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