Congress MP Pramod Tiwari on Wednesday refrained from directly commenting on reports of alleged cross-voting by INDIA bloc MPs in the Vice Presidential election, stating that opposition parties would collectively review the matter before making an official statement.
Tiwari congratulated NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan on his victory but underlined that the Opposition had improved its performance compared to the 2022 polls.
“The Opposition secured 26% of votes last time, and this time it rose to 40%. That means danger is knocking at PM Modi’s door. If cross-voting has taken place, it is wrong. But I will not comment now—several parties are involved, and all will review it before I say anything officially,” Tiwari told ANI.
Earlier, Congress MP Manish Tewari said any instance of cross-voting would warrant a “systematic and clinical investigation” by all members of the opposition alliance.
The comments came after Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju took a swipe at the Opposition, thanking INDIA bloc MPs who “voted with conscience” for the NDA candidate. BJP General Secretary BL Santhosh also claimed that the opposition candidate received 15 votes fewer than the bloc’s total strength.
Radhakrishnan was elected the 15th Vice President of India, defeating joint opposition nominee Justice (retd) B Sudershan Reddy by 152 votes. He secured 452 first-preference votes, while Reddy received 300; 15 votes were declared invalid, according to Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Mody.
The election also saw some parties abstaining or boycotting: the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) abstained, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) did not participate, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) boycotted the poll, citing public resentment in Punjab.
The Vice President’s post had been vacant since July 21, 2025, following Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation due to health reasons.
