Chennai, Aug 24 : Retired Justice Sudershan Reddy, the Opposition’s Vice-Presidential candidate, is in Chennai on Sunday to kickstart his campaign in Tamil Nadu.
He will begin the day by meeting Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at his Alwarpet residence. During the meeting, Stalin is expected to felicitate Reddy and host a tea reception in his honour.
Reddy will formally seek the support of DMK MPs for his candidature in the Vice-Presidential election.
Following his discussions with CM Stalin, Reddy is scheduled to check into a star hotel in T. Nagar for rest and further engagements. Later in the evening, around 6 p.m., he will host a dinner at the hotel to interact with leaders and MPs of the DMK’s alliance partners.
Among those expected to attend are Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief Selvaperunthagai, MDMK general secretary Vaiko, CPI state secretary R. Shanmugam, CPI(M) state secretary K. Balakrishnan, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol. Thirumavalavan, and Makkal Needhi Maiam president Kamal Haasan.
At this gathering, Reddy will once again seek their collective backing for his Vice-Presidential bid.
The meeting in Chennai marks the beginning of Reddy’s wider outreach across the country, as he aims to consolidate the INDIA bloc votes ahead of the crucial contest.
Meanwhile, NDA’s candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan has also been actively reaching out to MPs and alliance leaders in various states to ensure a strong showing.
The Vice-Presidential election is set to take place on September 9, with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fielding C.P. Radhakrishnan from Tamil Nadu and the Congress-led INDIA bloc nominating former Justice Sudarshan Reddy.
Both candidates have already filed their nomination papers and are now touring states to garner support from Members of Parliament (MPs) and alliance partners.
With both sides treating the contest as a high-stakes political battle, the day’s engagements in Chennai are expected to set the tone for the INDIA bloc’s campaign in South India.
–IANS
