BJP holds key meeting ahead of VP polls with PM Modi in attendance

New Delhi: A two-day workshop for BJP MPs was hosted at the GMC Balayogi Auditorium in the Parliament premises here on Sunday, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Taking it to X, PM Modi said: "Attended the ‘Sansad Karyashala’ in Delhi. MP colleagues from all over India and other senior leaders exchanged valuable perspectives on diverse issues."

"In our party, platforms like ‘Sansad Karyashala’ are important because they are great forums to learn from each other and deliberate on how we can serve people even better," he added.

It is pertinent to note here that the BJP has organised the two-day workshop for MPs, ahead of the September 9 Vice-presidential elections.

According to sources, the workshop included a mock poll to train MPs on the vote-casting process, IANS reported.

The BJP-led NDA has intensified its preparations and is leaving no stone unturned for the Vice Presidential election and this two-day workshop is likely to feature a presentation which would apprise the MPs, both from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha regarding the poll process.

This time, the V-P election is seen as a 'South vs South' battle, with NDA nominee C.P. Radhakrishnan from Tamil Nadu (who has an old association with RSS) and opposition candidate B. Sudarshan Reddy from Telangana (former Supreme Court judge).

The Vice President is elected by an electoral college consisting of members from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The 2025 electoral college is composed of 788 members, including 233 elected (presently five seats are vacant in the upper house) and 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha, and 543 elected members of the Lok Sabha (one seat vacant in the lower house).

Currently, there are 782 members in the electoral college due to vacant seats. The election is conducted via a secret ballot using a system of proportional representation with a single transferable vote.

Former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy was on August 19 declared as the united Opposition parties’ candidate for the Vice-Presidential election -- an exercise described by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge as an “ideological battle”.

Introducing Reddy as a “pro-poor and champion of economic and social cause”, Kharge had said that he represents the values which reflect our freedom struggle and on which our Constitution and democracy are based.

“Today, these values are under assault, and this is the reason that the Opposition decided to contest this ideological battle unitedly,” he said.

Reddy, who has practised law in Andhra Pradesh and served as the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court, was appointed as a Supreme Court judge in January 2007. He retired in July 2011.

Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan's name as Vice President candidate was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President J.P. Nadda on August 12.

The Vice Presidential election was necessitated by the mid-term resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar, who vacated the post citing medical reasons.

The Vice President also serves as the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, making the post politically significant.