DC Edit | Let’s Hope New V-P Unbiased

The election of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan as vice-president on Tuesday ends a series of events that began with the abrupt and unexplained resignation of the incumbent Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 22 with two more years to go in the second highest constitutional office in the country. The NDA enjoys a clear majority in the electoral college comprising the members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and hence Mr Radhakrishnan’s election was a foregone conclusion.

Mr Radhakrishnan, hailing from Tamil Nadu, a state that has still remained out of the grasp of the saffron front, has a reputation of maintaining warm relations across party lines and is expected to run the Rajya Sabha as its chairman with a democratic spirit. His predecessor, Mr Dhankhar, had earned a reputation for his abrasive style which steamrolled the Opposition, quite contrary to the practices of the House of Elders. Indeed, he not only denied the Opposition its legitimate say in the running of the House but also went to the extent of insulting even senior and veteran leaders for reasons known only to him. It will be a great service to the nation if Mr Radhakrishnan effected a course-correction and brought the parliamentary practices back on the rails.

Election campaigns in India have of late plumbed a new depth with parties engage in the worst form of mudslinging at one another. The stakes are very high in the forthcoming Assembly and general elections, too, and it will call for a determined effort on the part of all the parties to end this trend. The vice-presidential election in which the result can almost be foretold could have shown the way forward but, unfortunately, it was not to be. The ruling party took the candidature of a former Supreme Court judge as an occasion to denigrate his judicial pronouncements. It will do every party and the nation good if they can reimagine their campaigns. It is still better late than never.