The outcome of the election of India’s vice-president was never in doubt. The nominee of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, C.P. Radhakrishnan, a former governor of Maharashtra, had the numbers in his favour: he was expected to receive 427 votes in the electoral college comprising 781 members. The projection of votes for the candidate put up by the Opposition, B. Sudershan Reddy, a former Supreme Court judge, was 315. The final outcome read differently. Out of the 767 votes that were cast — only 752, however, were valid — Mr Radhakrishnan received 452 first preference votes while Mr Reddy got only 300. It was, as expected, a comfortable victory for the NDA candidate. The dip in the first preference votes for the Opposition candidate may not have been the result of the procedural invalidation of votes only; it is being speculated that there is evidence of some members from the Opposition cross-voting. Political conscience is, especially when it comes to India’s Opposition, a fickle — brittle — entity. What cannot be doubted though is that the NDA’s superior floor management, outreach and strategising saw Mr Radhakrishnan home, even though it was by one of the thinnest margins on record.
The attention must now turn to a more serious matter: the conduct of the occupant of this august Chair. Mr Radhakrishnan’s predecessor, whose reason for resignation continues to keep tongues wagging, had set a poor precedent by being the recipient of a notice for his removal as the upper House’s chairman by Opposition MPs. Jagdeep Dhankhar’s partisan conduct, a malaise that has afflicted governors as well, was the bone of contention. India’s new vice-president must refrain from taking this path. This is because the absence of objectivity has a debilitating impact on the productivity of the Rajya Sabha. Records suggest that during the Monsoon Session, the Rajya Sabha could function for only 34% of its total time. Question Hour, a crucial element of House proceedings, was impaired severely. Several bills were also passed in haste without adequate discussion. Mr Radhakrishnan now has an opportunity to, indeed the responsibility of, setting the House and its proceedings straight. Adherence to established constitutional modes of conduct, firmness and, above all, impartiality could help him achieve his constitutional objectives and, in the process, improve the Rajya Sabha’s productivity and image.