Former Supreme Court judge Sudershan Reddy was declared the Opposition’s candidate for the Vice-Presidential election to be held next month. He will contest against the NDA’s candidate, CP Radhakrishnan. The September 9 election is expected to bring a close political contest between the two sides as they work to secure support before the vote.

Sudershan Reddy, the former Supreme Court judge, was declared as the Opposition’s candidate for the Vice-Presidential election.

Reddy is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India and appointed as the first Lokayukta of Goa in 2013. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday announced his candidature.

"All INDIA bloc parties have decided to have a common candidate; the decision has been taken unanimously. I am happy that all opposition parties have agreed on one name. It is a big achievement for democracy," Kharge said.

Justice Sudershan Reddy, born in July 1946, started his legal career after enrolling as an advocate with the Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh on December 27, 1971. He worked as a government pleader in the Andhra Pradesh High Court from 1988 to 1990, and briefly as additional standing counsel for the Central government in 1990. He was also the legal adviser and standing counsel for Osmania University.

Reddy was appointed a permanent judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on May 2, 1995, and later became chief justice of the Gauhati High Court on December 5, 2005. He was elevated to the Supreme Court on January 12, 2007, and served until his retirement on July 8, 2011.

In March 2013, he took charge as the first Lokayukta of Goa but resigned within seven months citing personal reasons.

Last week, the ruling NDA nominated 67-year-old Radhakrishnan, a senior BJP leader, as their Vice-Presidential candidate. He served as the governor of Maharashtra and hails from Tamil Nadu.

With the BJP-led NDA holding a majority in the electoral college made up of MPs from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Radhakrishnan’s win is considered certain even as the opposition INDIA bloc indicated it would field its own candidate to force a contest.

The Vice-Presidential election is scheduled for September 9, with the last date for filing nominations set as August 21. The vacancy arose after the incumbent, Jagdeep Dhankhar, resigned on July 21, citing health reasons.

The Parliamentary Board included party president JP Nadda, union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Sarbanand Sonowal, former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yedyurappa, BL Santhosh, national general secretary (organisation), OBC cell chief K Laxman, Sudha Yadav, Iqbal Singh Lalpura, and Satyanarayan Jatiya.