New Delhi: Polling is underway on Saturday for the election of the vice president. It has started at 10 am and will continue till 5 pm. It seems to be a cakewalk for the NDA nominee, Jagdeep Dhankhar, to win against the opposition candidate, Margaret Alva. MPs of both Houses are casting their votes today to elect the next vice-president of India.
The electoral college in the vice presidential poll comprises 788 members of both Houses of Parliament.
Earlier, NDA nominee Dhankhar attended an NDA MPs’ meeting where they were given tips on how to vote, and a mock voting session was also held to make them aware of the procedure regarding casting votes. The EC said that all electors are members of two Houses of Parliament and their vote value would be one.
The NDA’s strength is 445 in both the Houses, while several regional parties like YSRCP, BJD, TDP, BSP, AIADMK, and Shiv Sena have decided to support the NDA candidate. Hence, the total number of electors will touch around 515 in favour of Jagdeep Dhankhar. Opposition candidate Alva is expected to garner about 200 votes. Outgoing VP M Venkaiah Naidu received 516 votes in 2017.
The TMC, which has 39 MPs, will abstain from voting, citing a lack of consultation in the candidate’s nomination decision, reducing Alva’s total vote. But she is expected to receive support from the Congress, including TRS, AAP, and JMM.
Dhankhar met with several BJP MPs at his residence on Friday, including Sushil Kumar Modi, Gautam Gambhir, Rajyavardhan Rathore, Pradeep Choudhary and Kartikeya Sharma.
Polling has been underway; the returning officer is expected to declare the result by late Saturday.
