BRS, BJD to Abstain from Vice Presidential Election - How Will That Affect Numbers?

Two key regional parties - Telangana’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) - have announced that they will abstain from voting in the upcoming Vice Presidential election, signalling a calculated distance from both the ruling NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc.

BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao said the party’s decision was driven by its belief that the contest has been reduced to a political show of strength rather than a meaningful democratic exercise. BRS, which has four Rajya Sabha members but no Lok Sabha seats, chose to abstain as a protest over the acute shortage of urea fertiliser in Telangana, affecting farmers. KTR stated, "The decision to skip the Vice-Presidential election is an expression of anguish of Telangana’s farmers over the shortage of urea in the state." He accused both the BJP-led central government and the Congress-led Telangana state government of failing to address the crisis, noting that farmers were even getting into scuffles in queues. KTR added, "We would have opted for NOTA if it were available in the vice presidential election," emphasising the party's frustration.


In Bhubaneswar, BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra echoed a similar stance, underlining that Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s party would refrain from aligning with either side. BJD, that lost to BJP in the last year assembly election - has seven Rajya Sabha members, decided to stay neutral to maintain its policy of "equal distance" from both the NDA and the INDIA bloc. BJD MP Sasmit Patra announced, "BJD president Naveen Patnaik has decided that the party's MPs will abstain from voting in the vice presidential elections. He took the decision after consulting senior party leaders, members of the political affairs committee (PAC) and lawmakers." Patra further explained, "The BJD remains equidistant from both the NDA and INDIA alliances. Our entire focus is on the development of the state and its 4.5 crore people."

Both parties have in the past played the role of fence-sitters in national contests, often keeping their cards close to the chest. Political observers say their abstention this time underscores a strategy to preserve political independence while keeping channels open with both Delhi camps. Analysts claim that the abstention may not alter the outcome for BJP led NDA candidate Radhakrishnan, who is favoured to win comfortably with the numbers as they stand now. At present there are 239 Rajya Sabha MPs and 542 Lok Sabha MPs, all of whom are eligible to vote. However, with BRS and BJD abstaining the total number of MPs voting comes down to 770 and the majority mark stand at 386. The NDA has 425 MPs.​