Oppn MPs to practise with 'mock poll'

Both sides strive to shore up their numbers, eye cross-voting gains

- PREETHA NAIR @New Delhi

WITH just a day left for Tuesday's Vice-Presidential election, both the ruling BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led opposition have intensified efforts to boost their numbers.

The NDA, which was the first to announce a candidate for the V-P poll on August 17, has since been engaging with its MPs to ensure victory for its nominee, C P Radhakrishnan.

On his part, Radhakrishnan has concluded his campaign by meeting all MPs of the alliance, travelling across states and in Delhi.

Although the final result is a foregone conclusion in favour of the NDA's nominee, all eyes are on fence-sitters and neutral parties, including Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and K Chandrashekhar Rao's Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which are yet to show their hands. The BJD has seven Rajya Sabha MPs while the BRS has four.

Congress sources told this paper that they don't expect any surprises in Tuesday's voting, as most southern parties appear to be inclined towards supporting the NDA nominee.