The Opposition's candidate for the vice presidential polls, B Sudershan Reddy, on Friday said he would write to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs urging them to consider his candidature.

If given an opportunity to serve as Vice President, he will protect and defend the Constitution, Reddy said at a press conference here.

He said his journey with the Constitution began in 1971 when he was enrolled as an advocate by the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh, before going on to become a judge in the High Court and the Supreme Court.

"I am not a member of any political party. I have never been a member of any political party or organisation. I do not intend to be a member of any political party in future. Precisely, this is the reason I am the only candidate entitled to make a request to MPs belonging to all political parties, colours, hues, requesting them to consider my candidature on its own merits," he said.

"I propose to write a detailed letter to all members of both the Houses, individual letters to all members, appealing to them to consider my candidature," he added.

Reddy said he will appeal to their conscience.

The jurist said he was ready to meet the BJP leadership if given a chance.

The vice presidential poll, necessitated by the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar recently, has been described by the Opposition as an ideological battle.

The numbers, however, are stacked in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, which has nominated Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan for the September 9 election.

Earlier in the day, Reddy met Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar as he canvassed for votes for the vice presidential polls.

Thackeray told Reddy that his party and other Maha Vikas Aghadi constituents are wholeheartedly backing him in the VP election.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said miracles can happen, hoping for Reddy's victory. He said those NDA MPs who have love for the country can vote for Reddy.

"The consensus on my candidature among the Opposition would not have been possible without Uddhav Thackeray's backing," Reddy said.

After meeting Pawar at his residence, Reddy said he came to seek the blessings of a statesman who built modern Maharashtra.

He described Pawar as a personality whose imprint is visible in every major political, social and economic development of the last five decades.

Backing Reddy's candidature, Pawar said a chief minister was arrested inside Raj Bhavan when NDA's nominee Radhakrishnan was the governor of Jharkhand, and asked what dignity he would bring to India's second-highest constitutional post.

"I respect the chair of the governor. But I cannot forget that when he was the governor of Jharkhand, the chief minister of that state, who comes from a tribal community, was arrested inside the Raj Bhavan despite his request not to do so," he said, referring to the arrest of Hemant Soren last year.

"This shows what his views are about institutions and maintaining their dignity. And now such a person has been made a candidate for vice president," Pawar said after meeting Reddy at his Mumbai residence.

Pawar said the entire nation is interested in the VP election, particularly as the previous vice president resigned before completing his term, raising unanswered questions.

"As a senior parliamentarian, I too do not know the reasons. The stature and dignity of the post must be maintained by both the government and the Opposition. That is why this election becomes so crucial," Pawar said.

Reddy, meanwhile, rejected suggestions that the contest was a South versus South fight, given both candidates hail from southern states.

"It is most inappropriate to portray it in such a way. This is a contest between two individuals. The country is one, the nation is one," he asserted.

Pawar said the Opposition was unanimous in backing Reddy.

"The decisions he made during his tenure as a judge were in defence of the rights of the common man. Hence, such a person coming forward to contest this election is a matter of pride for us. Success or failure is not important, what matters is upholding the dignity of the chair," he said.

Pawar said he had received calls from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking support for the NDA candidate.

The CM is consistently pressing one point that the candidate is Maharashtra's governor, hence all should vote for him. But that is not an issue for us, he said.

On this, Thackeray said it is a fact that Fadnavis called him, adding he found it surprising that despite breaking his party, the BJP needs votes of his MPs.

"During the presidential polls in 2022, my (undivided) Shiv Sena voted in favour of (NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu). But even after winning the polls, there was no courtesy call (from the BJP)," Thackeray said.

On the absence of former VP Dhankhar from public life, Pawar said, "Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had already written a letter seeking clarity on his whereabouts. We are still waiting for a reply."

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