New Delhi, Aug 20: CP Radhakrishnan, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for the Vice-Presidential polls, filed his nomination papers on Wednesday, setting the ball rolling for the high-stakes elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi accompanied Radhakrishnan during the nomination filing, while other top Union ministers, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah and other NDA leaders, also joined in.

The nomination was filed in four sets, each carrying the signatures of 20 proposers and 20 seconders. PM Modi was the chief proposer as he signed and submitted the first set of nomination papers, while the remaining sets bore signatures of other Union ministers and NDA leaders.

The filing of nomination papers by CP Radhakrishnan marked a special moment for the BJP-led NDA and also signalled a show of strength as many top ministers of the BJP-led NDA government, including Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Anupriya Patel and others, joined him for the nomination filing.

In terms of arithmetics and numbers game, NDA's Radhakrishnan enjoys a comfortable lead over the INDIA bloc candidate Sudarshan Reddy.

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Currently, the Lok Sabha has 543 MPs, while the Rajya Sabha has 233 MPs out of a total strength of 245. BJP has 240 MPs in the Lower House and 102 MPs in the Upper House, and with support from the allies, the total strength of NDA reaches 421 -- 298 and 128 respectively in both Houses.

On the other hand, the INDIA bloc parties have 235 Lok Sabha MPs and 77 Rajya Sabha MPs. Their combined strength comes to a total of 312, and if AAP extends support with 11 MPs, the total tally will reach 325.

Among other non-aligned parties, the YSRCP has announced to extend support to the NDA candidate, and with their 11 MPs, the total strength in support of Radhakrishnan adds up to 433, giving him a comfortable and decisive lead over the INDIA bloc nominee.

Meanwhile, the BJP has also appealed to the opposition parties in Tamil Nadu to ‘correct their historic blunder’ by rallying behind Radhakrishnan, unlike the time during APJ Abdul Kalam when they refused to stand behind him for his second term as President.

(IANS)

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