What Does BJD-BRS Abstention In Vice-President Polls Mean? Congress Sends Conflicting Signals

Last Updated:September 09, 2025, 08:52 IST

Both the BJD and the BRS said they are neither with the ruling NDA nor with the Opposition INDIA bloc.

India will elect its 15th Vice President today, with members of both Houses of Parliament casting their votes in a high-stakes contest. (PTI photo)

Ahead of the Vice-Presidential election scheduled for Tuesday, two parties — the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of Odisha and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of Telangana — have declared their intent to abstain from the polls. With BJD and BRS abstaining from the polls, the NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan gets an upper hand over the INDIA bloc’s nominee Justice B Sudershan Reddy in the number game.

Both the BJD and the BRS said they are neither with the ruling NDA nor with the Opposition INDIA bloc. “The BJD remains equidistant from both the NDA and INDIA," a BJD leader said.

Responding to this, Congress leader Srikant Jena said, “BJD and Bharatiya Rashtra Samiti have decided to abstain from voting for the Vice President. This abstention equals support to the NDA government. They are, in other words, supporting their (NDA) Vice Presidential candidate."

Meanwhile, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRCP has also decided to extend support to the NDA candidate for the Vice-President’s election. Reacting to Reddy’s support for NDA’s pick, Congress leader Manickam Tagore slammed the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and said, “History won’t forget Mr Jagan Reddy’s betrayal. By supporting an RSS-backed candidate for Vice President, he has chosen fear of CBI cases over the interests of Andhra Pradesh."

“This is not about strategy. This is about surrender—surrendering to Modi–Babu’s pressure, instead of standing with democratic forces," the Congress leader said, adding, “Jagan’s compromise today will be remembered as the day he placed his personal survival above people’s mandate. Andhra deserved courage. He chose cowardice."

Vice-President Polls Today

The polling will start at 10 am at Vasudha hall in the new Parliament building, now renamed as Samvidhan Sadan. “The polling will take place from 10 am and close at 5 pm on September 9 and the result will be declared on Tuesday," the Rajya Sabha Secretariat announced.

While the Opposition has termed the poll as a battle between the Constitution and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP continued its attacks on B Sudershan Reddy.

On the eve of the election, it targeted Reddy for seeking support from former Bihar Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Prasad Yadav, convicted for his role in financial irregularities and corruption in the animal husbandry department of the state when he was the Chief Minister.

Mahima Joshi

Mahima Joshi, Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking team. Covering national stories and bringing breaking news to the table are her forte. She is deeply interested in Indian politics and a...Read More

Mahima Joshi, Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking team. Covering national stories and bringing breaking news to the table are her forte. She is deeply interested in Indian politics and a...

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