"Our vote share increased from 26% to 40%," says Congress' Manickam Tagore on Vice Presidential election

New Delhi [India], September 10 (ANI): Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Wednesday said that the Opposition's vote share increased from 26 per cent to 40 per cent in a Vice presidential election, with their numbers going up from 182 to 300.
Tagore added that if some regional parties had supported their candidate, they could have reached around 350 votes.
Speaking to ANI, Manickam Tagore said, "...In the previous elections in 2022, our numbers were 182...This time, we have increased our vote share from 26% to 40%, which is 182 to 300...If YSCRP, BJD, BRS, and SAD had not abstained and voted for Justice Sudarshan Reddy ji. We would have reached around 350 or something...We fought for an ideological position."
Tagore expressed disappointment over 15 invalid votes but congratulated CP Radhakrishnan on being elected as Vice President.
"What is very sad for us is the invalid votes. 15 votes were declared invalid...We all feel that he (CP Radhakrishnan) should be a good Vice President, and we all congratulate him for being elected as Vice President," he said.
A day earlier, Radhakrishnan, the NDA nominee, was elected as the 15th Vice President of India after securing 452 first preference votes. INDIA bloc candidate Justice (Retd) B Sudershan Reddy received 300 votes, while 15 votes were declared invalid.
A total voter turnout of 98.20 per cent was recorded, with 767 MPs casting their votes out of 781.
Following the announcement of results, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated CP Radhakrishnan and expressed confidence that the newly elected Vice President would strengthen India's constitutional values and contribute positively to parliamentary discourse.
"Congratulations to Thiru CP Radhakrishnan Ji on winning the 2025 Vice Presidential election. His life has always been devoted to serving society and empowering the poor and marginalised. I am confident that he will be an outstanding VP, who will strengthen our Constitutional values and enhance Parliamentary discourse, Prime Minister Modi wrote on X.
Furthermore, 13 MPs abstained from voting in the election. These include seven MPs from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), four from the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), one MP from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and one Independent MP.
The Vice President's post has been vacant since July 21, 2025, as Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his position, citing health reasons. (ANI)