New Delhi, Aug 26 (IANS) The INDIA Bloc’s Vice Presidential candidate, Justice (retired) B. Sudershan Reddy arrived in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow on Tuesday, where he was welcomed by senior leaders of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress.

During a ceremony organised in his honour, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav felicitated Justice Reddy and extended greetings to him for his candidature.

Addressing the gathering, Yadav said, “The INDIA Bloc candidate, with his steadfast commitment to the Constitution, law, justice, rights, and ideology, is the best option in this battle for justice. We hope that those who stand for justice will vote for our candidate according to the call of their conscience.”

Justice Reddy, while expressing his gratitude to the alliance for nominating him, said, “I have come here to seek the support of the honourable Members of Parliament from the state of Uttar Pradesh. I believe that the office of the Vice President of India, which is second only to that of the President of India, is not a political office; it is a high constitutional office.”

Holding a small red copy of the Constitution in his hand, he stated, “I stand by the constitutional values and the preamble, and I assure everyone that I will continue to do so.”

Speaking to IANS after the event, SP MP Awadhesh Prasad said, “Justice Reddy, the INDIA Bloc candidate for the vice presidential post, met us today and we expressed our full and united support for him. We are committed to making him win. He has always abided by the Constitutional traditions in his profession. We hope that if he is elected, the attack on the Constitution will stop.”

SP MP Pushpendra Saroj also said that the entire INDIA Bloc is with Justice Reddy.

“We congratulated him today and expressed our support for him. We want a Vice President who doesn’t work under the ruling party, or else he will soon be ousted. Justice Reddy has spent his life ensuring justice to people who have been wronged, and now he will ensure justice for the INDIA Bloc,” Saroj told IANS.

SP MP Zia ur Rahman Barq said that since Justice Reddy is a non-political person, he would “strengthen” constitutional traditions.

Speaking to IANS, he said, “We hope that just like the Opposition alliance, the parties of the ruling NDA also acknowledge this and support Justice Reddy. This will ensure that the parliamentary traditions are being followed.”

SP MP Dharmendra Yadav described Justice Reddy as the “need of the hour” and expressed confidence in his victory.

“Today, we welcomed Justice Sudershan Reddy and congratulated him on his candidature. He has a great personality and is a need of the hour for our country. I am confident that for the sake of saving democracy, people will vote for Justice Reddy and he will become our Vice President,” Yadav told IANS.

SP MP Iqra Hasan also told IANS that the INDIA Bloc would “fully support” Justice Reddy and expressed hope that NDA allies would also back him in the vice presidential election.

SP MP Afzal Ansari said the Opposition alliance was “united” to ensure Justice Reddy’s victory.

“We will fight this together. The ruling party is very worried about the election,” he said.

Justice Reddy filed his nomination papers on August 21, describing the moment as an “honour”. He vowed to fulfil the responsibilities of the office with impartiality, dignity and a steadfast commitment if elected.

The vice presidential election will be a direct contest between Justice Reddy, supported by the INDIA Bloc, and the NDA’s nominee, C.P. Radhakrishnan.

The Election Commission has announced that polling will be held on September 9, with counting scheduled for the same day.

The post of Vice President became vacant after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned, citing health reasons.

–IANS

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