Following the Vice Presidential election on September 9th, in which NDA candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan emerged victorious, a significant controversy has erupted. Opposition parties have accused the BJP of orchestrating cross-voting and vote-buying, sparking intense debate. Abhishek Banerjee, a TMC leader, accused the BJP of buying votes from opposition MPs, claiming they spent 15 to 20 crore rupees per vote. He condemned this as an attempt to weaken democracy.
The election saw Radhakrishnan receive 452 votes, while his opponent, B. Sudarshan Reddy, received 300, leading to speculation of cross-voting among some MPs. Banerjee stated that some people told him that the BJP had paid 15-20 crore rupees to buy each MP’s vote. He argued that representatives were selling the trust of the people.
Banerjee questioned the increased vote share for the NDA despite the decline in support for the INDIA bloc. He also mentioned previous attempts by the BJP to influence elections by distributing cash in the 2021 Bengal assembly elections and attempting to bribe polling agents in 2024.
Other opposition voices have echoed concerns. Manish Tewari from the Congress called for a thorough investigation into any cross-voting. Tejashwi Yadav from the RJD affirmed that his party voted for the INDIA bloc. Supriya Sule from the NCP (Sharad Pawar) questioned how the BJP knew who voted for whom. Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) accused the BJP of sowing distrust and manipulating agencies.
In response, the BJP has rejected these claims, with Shamik Bhattacharya, the state BJP president, stating that the election results demonstrated the NDA’s unity and the opposition’s disunity.