Congress demands probe into cross-voting allegations in VP election
What's the story
Congress MP Manish Tewari has called for an investigation into allegations of cross-voting during the recent vice presidential election. National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate CP Radhakrishnan won the election with 452 first preference votes, defeating opposition candidate Justice (Retd) B Sudershan Reddy, who secured 300 votes. The results have raised eyebrows, although Radhakrishnan was expected to get at least 427 votes from NDA MPs and an additional 11 from the YSR Congress Party's support, totaling 438 votes.
Vote analysis
Cross-voting suspected from multiple parties
The Congress has claimed that all 315 of its MPs voted for Reddy in a show of unity. However, reports suggest that around seven cross-votes may have come from Maharashtra, including possibly three from Shiv Sena (UBT) and four from the Congress. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) are also under suspicion for possible cross-voting.
Investigation call
Manish Tewari calls for investigation
"If there was cross-voting, then it should be seriously investigated by each of the constituents of the INDIA Alliance," Tewari said. "If at all what is being said...speculated has an iota of truth in it, it deserves a systematic and clinical investigation," he added. The NDA's victory in this election has exposed cracks within the opposition alliance, which is still trying to present a united front against the NDA. The AAP had formally exited the INDIA bloc in July.
Election aftermath
Disunity within opposition alliance
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) abstained from voting, while Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chose not to participate. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) boycotted the poll over grievances against both the central and state governments. The vice president's post was left vacant on July 21, when Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his position on the first day of the Parliament monsoon session, citing health reasons.