V-P poll a chance to reiterate our faith in democracy

With the prestigious Vice-President elections fast approaching on September 9, the nominee of the Opposition INDIA bloc, Justice Sudarshan Reddy, has made an impassioned plea to members of parliament who constitute the electorate for this prestigious elections.

He has affirmed that ‘this is not just a vote to elect your Vice-President, it is a vote for the spirit of India itself.’ Brave words considering that Justice Reddy reportedly does not stand much of a chance against the candidate of the ruling NDA, CP Radhakrishnan, who could sweep through unless the arithmetic goes terribly wrong.

But this has been the case with elections in the past too with the results a foregone conclusion considering the numbers each bloc enjoys. While veteran Congress leader from Karnataka Margaret Alva lost to the previous incumbent, Jagdeep Dhankar in the 2022 elections, BJP veteran Venkaiah Naidu had trounced Gopalkrishna Gandhi in 2017.

Despite the fact that the numbers were not on their side, the Opposition put up a heroic effort to prove a point that those in power could not ride roughshod over democratic values and secular ideals, which have been under increasing threat in recent years.

From Arvind Kejriwal to Manish Sisodia and Hemant Soren, many stalwarts of the Opposition have made trips to jail on various charges, proving that the ruling dispensation at the Centre would like to ‘retain ‘control’ without letting the crescendo of voices against its controversial decisions go out of hand.

Attempts have even been made to target Justice Reddy over the Salva Judum verdict while claiming that he had gone soft on the Naxalites. This had led to a backlash from several prominent personalities including retired judges, who have come out in support of Justice Reddy while slamming attempts to lower his stature in the public eye ahead of the V-P polls.

The targeting of the Opposition has been happening with uncanny regularity with Opposition-ruled states facing discrimination in fund and project allocations from the BJP-ruled Centre. Whether it is Karnataka, which contributes lakhs of crores to the central kitty in the form of taxes and export revenue, or Tamil Nadu and Kerala, there is no doubt that these states are being punished for rejecting the BJP’s sectarian and divisive policies and its nominees in recent polls.

The same is the case with Opposition ruled states like West Bengal and Telangana which have borne the brunt of the Centre’s ‘pick and choose’ approach. Magnanimity and an unbiased approach to each state’s problems and needs - whether they are ruling party or Opposition ruled, have never been high on the priority list of those ruling the roost at the Centre.

In such difficult times, it is imperative to put up a steady and unrelenting fight against those who have no qualms about trampling on democratic rights and having their way by hook or crook. While the INDIA bloc of Opposition parties has been weighed down by differences of perception in the past, which has often blunted the unified attack on the ruling front, the vice-president poll offers a unique opportunity to send out a strong message.

That INDIA may lose but the persistent struggle for a sane, secular, progressive and free society will continue as ever despite never-ending efforts to cripple the spirit of democracy in this great nation.