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Congress leader Imran Masood on Tuesday expressed hope in INDIA bloc candidate B Sudershan Reddy winning the Vice Presidential polls, calling it the "election to save the soul of the nation."
"This is an election to save the soul of the nation...I am hopeful that we will emerge victorious," Masood told ANI outside Parliament premises. While the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) seems to have a comfortable majority of 427 votes, well above the needed 391 votes, the INDIA bloc hopes for cross-voting to achieve victory. Currently, the INDIA bloc candidate is only backed by 354 MPs, with 249 in the Lower House and 105 in the Upper House. Currently, the Parliament comprises 781 members, including 542 in the Lok Sabha with one seat vacant and 239 in the Rajya Sabha with five seats vacant. Congress leader Sachin Pilot also took a jibe at the NDA, claiming that the alliance has to "work very hard" to prove their majority. He further questioned former VP Jagdeep Dhankar not being in the public eye. "Why are the Vice Presidential elections being held? Where is the former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar?...NDA has to work very hard to prove its majority in the elections, as the INDIA alliance's Vice Presidential candidate, B. Sudershan Reddy, is very strong. I am hopeful that the results will be in our favour," Pilot told ANI. Earlier today, the NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan offered prayers at Shree Ram Mandir in Delhi's Lodhi Road, and expressed confidence in winning the elections, saying that it will be a "big victory for Indian nationalism." "The elections are taking place. It is going to be a big victory for Indian nationalism. We are all one, we will be one and we want India to become 'Viksit Bharat'," the NDA nominee told reporters. Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have decided to abstain from the Vice Presidential elections. Meanwhile, the BJP MPs have expressed confidence in CP Radhakrishnan's win. (ANI)
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