National/Election Desk
9 September
Sandeep Dhand Ludhiana
Journalist
The election for India’s new Vice President concluded today. Voting was held from 10 AM to 5 PM inside the Parliament House. Reports said that by 3 PM, nearly 96% of polling had already taken place. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to cast his vote. The counting of votes will begin at 6 PM, and the results are expected later tonight.
The contest is between NDA candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan and INDIA bloc’s joint candidate B. Sudarshan Reddy. Based on numbers, the ruling NDA appears to have a clear edge. The election was called after former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned suddenly on July 21 due to health reasons, leaving two years of his term unfinished. The newly elected Vice President will serve a full five-year term.
Several prominent leaders, including Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Kiren Rijiju, cast their votes early. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, and SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav also voted. Members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha took part. Voting was conducted through a secret ballot, and MPs were not bound by party whips.
The electoral college for this election includes 542 Lok Sabha members and 240 Rajya Sabha members, making a total strength of 782. The winning mark is 391 votes. The NDA, with the support of 422 members, is comfortably above this mark. Interestingly, BRS and BJD decided to stay away from the election.
This is the third time in India’s history that a Vice President resigned mid-term. Earlier, V.V. Giri and R. Venkataraman stepped down to contest presidential elections.