New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) The stage is set for a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy for the September 9 vice-presidential election, in what is being described as a "south versus south" battle as both hail from southern India.

After a scrutiny of the nominations filed for the vice-presidential poll, all four sets of nomination papers of both the candidates were found to be in order, the office of the returning officer for the election said.

The Rajya Sabha secretary general is the returning officer for the vice-presidential election.

While Radhakrishnan is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran from Tamil Nadu and the governor of Maharashtra currently, Reddy is a former Supreme Court judge who hails from Telangana.

The vice-presidential poll has been described by the opposition as an ideological battle, even as the numbers are stacked in favour of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Radhakrishnan (67) served as a two-term member of the Lok Sabha from Coimbatore during the tenure of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and later, went on to lead the saffron party in Tamil Nadu.

Reddy (79), who retired from the apex court in July 2011, is a veteran jurist known for several landmark judgments criticising the then Union government for showing slackness in probing black-money cases. He had also declared Salwa Judum, appointed by the Chhattisgarh government, as unconstitutional.

As an apex court judge, Reddy ordered the formation of a special investigation team to take all steps for bringing back unaccounted monies unlawfully kept in bank accounts abroad. Retrieving black money deposited in foreign banks was a key electoral plank of the BJP ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

According to a statement from the Rajya Sabha secretary general, the process of the vice-presidential election commenced on August 7 with the issuance of a notification.

The last date for filing nominations was August 21, while the date for a scrutiny of the nomination papers was August 22.

"During the period from the 7th to 21st August, 2025, the Returning Officer for the Vice-Presidential Election, 2025 and Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha, received a total of 68 nomination papers filed by 46 candidates.

"Out of these 68 nomination papers, 28 nomination papers filed by 19 candidates were summarily rejected in terms of section 5B(4) of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952," the statement said.

Forty nomination papers of 27 candidates were taken for scrutiny at 11 am on Friday and rejected under sections 5B(1)(b) and 5C of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Election Act, it added.

"The nomination papers of the following candidates were found to be valid and hence accepted -- C P Radhakrishnan (Nomination Paper Sl Nos. 26, 27, 28 and 29) and Buchireddy Sudershan Reddy (Nomination Paper Sl. Nos. 41, 42, 43 and 44)," the statement said.

According to Article 66 of the Constitution, the vice president is elected by the members of the electoral college consisting of the members of both houses of Parliament.

For the 17th vice-presidential election slated to be held on September 9, the electoral college consists of 233 elected members of the Rajya Sabha (five seats are currently vacant), 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha and 543 elected members of the Lok Sabha (one seat is currently vacant).

The electoral college comprises a total of 788 members (782 presently) of both houses of Parliament. One Rajya Sabha member, Shibu Soren, has since died.

The NDA is projecting Radhakrishnan as an untainted leader with rich political and administrative experience for the vice president's office and maintaining that these qualities would also prove to be useful as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Radhakrishnan was the chairman of the All India Coir Board from 2016 to 2020, a period when coir exports witnessed a significant jump.

The Congress-led INDIA bloc is projecting Reddy as a consistent and courageous champion of social, economic and political justice. Reddy has had a long and eminent legal career, including as a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, the chief justice of the Gauhati High Court and a judge of the Supreme Court. He also led the committee that undertook the caste survey in Telangana. PTI SKC RC