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by IANS |
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 8 (IANS) When members of Parliament cast their votes in Tuesday’s Vice-Presidential election, only three MPs from Kerala are expected to support the BJP-led NDA candidate, continuing a voting pattern seen since 2014.
Kerala sends 20 MPs to the Lok Sabha and nine to the Rajya Sabha, along with two nominated members, taking the total strength to 31.
Of these, 28 are aligned with either the Congress-led UDF or the CPI(M)-led Left alliance, both part of the INDIA bloc, while just three represent or are affiliated to the BJP.
In the fray are C.P. Radhakrishnan, veteran BJP leader and current Governor of Maharashtra, fielded by the NDA, and B. Sudarshan Reddy, retired Supreme Court judge from Telangana, backed by the INDIA bloc.
Among Kerala’s 20 Lok Sabha MPs, 19 are expected to back Justice Reddy.
This group includes 18 MPs from the UDF and the lone CPI(M) representative, K. Radhakrishnan.
The sole exception is Suresh Gopi, actor-turned-politician and Minister of State for Tourism, who will vote for Radhakrishnan.
Gopi won a stellar win from the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat.
In the Rajya Sabha, all nine general seats from Kerala are held by the UDF and the Left, ensuring their support for Reddy.
However, the two nominated members—Olympian P.T. Usha and senior BJP leader C. Sadanandan will vote for the NDA’s nominee.
This means that while 28 MPs from Kerala will vote for the INDIA bloc candidate, just three—Suresh Gopi, Usha, and Sadanandan—will cast their ballots for Radhakrishnan.
The voting pattern reflects a consistent trend since the BJP-led NDA came to power in 2014.
On every occasion of Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections, MPs from Kerala’s two major political camps have found themselves supporting the losing candidate, while the NDA’s nominees, backed by their national majority, have prevailed.
With the numbers stacked firmly in favour of the NDA, that history looks set to repeat itself when the results are declared on Tuesday evening.
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