Leaders of the INDIA alliance met at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday. The agenda was clear — to finalise a name for the Opposition’s vice-presidential candidate. But like many such meetings, this one ended inconclusively. The next meeting will now be held on Tuesday, August 19.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh posted on X:
“A meeting of all Opposition parties will be held at 12:30 PM tomorrow.” That’s the headline. But the subtext tells a different story — one of disunity dressed up as consultation.
Two names emerged in discussion: Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai, the ISRO scientist who led Chandrayaan and brought India closer to the Moon, and Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and a noted social activist.
The Opposition reportedly wants to field a non-political face of national stature, someone who brings credibility, neutrality, and symbolism to the race. Annadurai fits the bill — a scientist, apolitical, and from Tamil Nadu’s Kongu region — incidentally, the same region from which the NDA’s candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan hails.
But is this science versus science? Tamil versus Tamil? Or just a symbolic counterweight?
Some in the Trinamool Congress found the idea “too reactive.” Choosing another Tamilian just to mirror NDA’s pick, they argue, reduces the ideological battle to a demographic match.
Meanwhile, the RJD and SP have their own doubts. Numbers are clearly stacked in NDA’s favour.
“Why waste energy on a contest we can’t win?” said one leader, stressing the need to focus on the upcoming Bihar elections and the ongoing controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
A senior SP leader added, “So far, we have shown unity. If there’s cross-voting in the VP elections, that illusion breaks. The damage will be internal.”
Kharge, however, remains firm — he wants a contest. Even if symbolic, even if it means just raising a voice.
Sources say that he will personally reach out to Opposition leaders today, attempting to build the widest possible consensus.
Behind the scenes, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had already reached out to some Opposition parties Sunday night, including Kharge, asking for unanimous support for the NDA candidate — C.P. Radhakrishnan. That call, of course, has so far been politely declined.
Interestingly, Annadurai’s name came from the DMK, and his candidature may help avoid the perception of the DMK opposing a “Tamil face.” But if this race becomes about optics and regions, it might lose the very values the VP office represents.
Tushar Gandhi’s name — symbolic, deeply rooted in India’s freedom struggle legacy — was also reportedly floated. But his chances remain slim, caught in the tug-of-war between electoral math and political messaging.
The vice-presidential election, triggered by Jagdeep Dhankhar’s sudden resignation, is scheduled for September 9—nominations close on August 21 — a tight timeline for serious democratic deliberation.
And through all this — the name juggling, phone calls, and region-vote balancing — one question remains unanswered:
Is the Opposition fighting for the second-highest constitutional post in India… or just for the headlines?
For now, the common voter watches silently, wondering whether the democracy they vote for has turned into a game of calculated silence — where even resistance is tailored, timed, and sometimes, too late.
