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New Delhi: The race for India’s second-highest constitutional office formally began on Wednesday with NDA candidate and Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan filing his nomination papers for the September 9 Vice-Presidential election.

Before proceeding to the new Parliament House complex, Radhakrishnan paid tributes at Prerna Sthal. He was accompanied by a high-powered NDA delegation led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the chief proposer in the first set of four nomination papers submitted to Returning Officer P.C. Mody, Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha.

Union ministers and leaders of all NDA allies turned out in full strength to endorse Radhakrishnan’s candidature. Notably, AIADMK leader M. Thambi Durai, representing a non-aligned regional party, also joined the delegation, lending symbolic weight to the NDA show of unity.

On the other side, the Opposition camp is set to field B. Sudarshan Reddy, an eminent jurist from Andhra Pradesh, who is scheduled to file his nomination on Thursday. Ahead of the formal filing, Reddy will meet MPs of all Opposition parties on Wednesday at the Central Hall of the old Parliament building. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and several senior Opposition leaders are expected to join him.

The election has effectively turned into a South India face-off.

• C P Radhakrishnan, born in Tamil Nadu, is a long-time RSS functionary who rose through the Sangh Parivar ranks before serving as BJP MP and, more recently, as Maharashtra Governor.

• B. Sudarshan Reddy, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, is best known for chairing an independent expert committee that validated the Congress-led Telangana government’s caste survey as “scientific,” bolstering the Opposition’s social justice plank.

The Vice-Presidential election, conducted through a secret ballot by members of both Houses of Parliament, is expected to mirror the current balance of power. With the NDA enjoying a comfortable majority, Radhakrishnan has a clear edge, though the Opposition’s choice of Reddy underscores its intent to mount a symbolic challenge on the plank of constitutional values and social representation.