Overview

• The opposition nominee met Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leaders in Lucknow, addressed a joint press conference and lunch, and said SP MPs have backed him.
• He said the vice president’s office is a constitutional, not political, role and urged MPs across parties to vote by conscience, with outreach planned to all members of the electoral college.
• Reddy noted recent meetings with Arvind Kejriwal and M. K. Stalin and said he was grateful for assistance from leaders outside the INDIA bloc.
• Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s criticism over the 2011 Salwa Judum verdict, he declined to extend the exchange, saying the Supreme Court’s judgment “spoke for itself.”
• The contest is against NDA nominee C. P. Radhakrishnan, as opposition leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi press voter-rights protests in Bihar over the Election Commission’s roll revision.