New Delhi, Sep 9, 2025

Three parties have decided to abstain from the Vice-Presidential election. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of Odisha, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of Punjab, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) of Telangana have chosen to stay away and will not align with any group.

Their decision will make little difference to the current poll arithmetic, with the nominee of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), C.P. Radhakrishnan, headed for a comfortable victory.

The Naveen Patnaik-led BJD on Monday decided to abstain from voting, while saying that it was following its long-held policy of maintaining an “equidistant” stance from both the BJP and the Congress party.

The decision was finalised at a meeting of the party’s political affairs committee. Senior BJD leader and R

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