Guwahati: Opposition candidate for the prestigious Vice-Presidential elections B Sudershan Reddy due on September 9 will arrive in Guwahati today.
A packed itinerary, the former Supreme Court Judge will hold parleys with several opposition legislators and discuss a concrete plan of action with an eye on the elections.
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A packed itinerary he has.
Ask Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly and Congress veteran Debabrata Saikia.
“Reddy will come and address a gathering, appealing to Congress and other BJP opposition members of Parliament. The idea is to resonate and present the UPA’s stance and reasoning,” said Saikia to NeNow.
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The primary purpose of the meeting is to inform people that there is a strong opposition to the BJP and and there are alternatives, Saikia added.
“There is concern about the current state of affairs, and this meeting aims to keep democracy alive. It is also an opportunity to announce and support the candidate being put forward,” he said.
In terms of the numbers game in Assam, Reddy falls short.
Assam currently has nine BJP members in the Lower and four in the Upper Houses. And with the AGP in tandem with the BJP-led state government, the number gets a spike.
On the contrary, Reddy is only assured of three Congress votes in the Lok Sabha and none in the Rajya Sabha from Assam.
Given this scenario Reddy’s chances to spring up a surprise look bleak.
Nationally speaking, Reddy and his INDIA alliance lacks the numbers too – NDA has 422 votes well above the required 394 combining both Houses of Parliament.
But Reddy who is up against NDA’s CP Radhakrishnan will be looking for support from parties in the Telugu speaking states like BRS, YSRCP and TDP.
Reddy being a Telugu speaker is hopeful that an NDA ally like Andhra Pradesh CM’s TDP will lend its support to him.
Telangana CM Revanth Reddy has already played the regional Telugu card to garner loyalty for the INDIA alliance’s Veep candidate.
However, TDP’s Nara Lokesh made it amply clear that it will not ditch the NDA candidate despite regional sentiment.
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The ex-Supreme Court judge is leaving no stones unturned to seek support.
Taking jabs at his rival who is also the Maharashtra Governor, Reddy says,” This is certainly not just about a contest between me and Radhakrishnan Ji. It is a contest of representing two different ideologies – one which the other side is propagating that here’s a quintessential RSS man. So far as I’m concerned, I do not subscribe to that ideology… I’m essentially a liberal, constitutional, democratic.”
But deep down, even the erudite former judge knows that in terms of numbers, he is found wanting.
Yet, it remains to be seen what course of action Reddy takes recourse to during his Assam trip.