Justice B Sudershan Reddy, INDIA bloc’s Vice-Presidential candidate.
The Opposition’s INDIA bloc has entered the Vice-Presidential race with a surprise choice. It has nominated Justice (retd) B Sudershan Reddy, a former Supreme Court judge, as its candidate. The decision came on Tuesday at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence, where alliance leaders met to finalise a joint nominee. The election will be held on September 9.
This contest pits a career judge against a career politician. The ruling NDA has already fielded CP Radhakrishnan, the Maharashtra governor and a senior RSS functionary. The match-up now turns into a test between judicial experience and political legacy.
Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, 78, has had a career spanning four decades in the legal field. He was born on July 8, 1946. He enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh in December 1971. His practice mainly dealt with writ and civil matters in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
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In 1988, he became a government pleader in the high court and served until 1990. For a brief period, he also acted as additional standing counsel for the Centre in 1990. He later worked as a legal adviser and standing counsel for Osmania University.
Justice Reddy’s judicial career took off in May 1995, when he was appointed a permanent judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. A decade later, in December 2005, he was elevated as Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court.
His career reached its peak on January 12, 2007, when he joined the Supreme Court of India. He retired on July 8, 2011, after serving for over four years in the country’s top court.
After retirement, Justice Reddy continued to serve in public life. In March 2013, he became the first Lokayukta of Goa. However, he resigned within seven months, citing personal reasons. He has also been on the Board of Trustees of the International Arbitration and Mediation Centre in Hyderabad.
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Announcing his name, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said all parties of the INDIA bloc agreed to field Justice Reddy as their common candidate. “All INDIA bloc parties have decided to have a common candidate. The decision has been taken unanimously. I am happy that all opposition parties have agreed to one name. It is a big achievement for democracy,” Kharge said.
The Vice-Presidential race now stands framed as a clear choice between two different kinds of public service—law and politics. Justice Reddy’s nomination reflects the Opposition’s strategy to put forward a figure of legal integrity against the BJP’s political strength.
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