नवीनतम
Polling begins for Vice Presidential election
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Voting began for the vice presidential poll on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the first to cast his vote.
The poll is witnessing a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy, with the BJP-led alliance having a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Among the early voters were Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kiren Rijiju. Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Harivansh, BJP MP Kangana Ranaut and SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav were among others who came to cast their vote.
Members of both Houses of Parliament will cast their votes in the Parliament House between 10 AM and 5 PM on Tuesday. Counting votes will begin at 6 PM, and the results will be announced late evening.
The election is being held 50 days after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his post as the Vice President on July 21, citing health reasons.
Union Minister Suresh Gopi said, "This election is not about choosing between anyone. It is an election aimed at selecting fairness, truthfulness, and effectiveness, which are most needed for the citizens of the country, whether they live inside or outside the country... As a person, I found CP Radhakrishnan to be the best worker or one of the best among thousands of workers in my ideological system."
Both the BJP-led NDA and opposition parties held mock polls ahead of the crucial day earlier, telling the MPs to be cautious in exercising their franchise lest their vote be invalid.
It seems that NDA's candidate CP Radhakrishnan has an edge with 427 MPs, well above the majority mark of 391, supporting him for the post. In the Lok Sabha, Radhakrishnan is expected to receive 293 votes, and 134 votes are likely to be cast in his favour in the Rajya Sabha.
Joint opposition candidate Reddy is backed by 354 MPs, with 249 in the lower house and 105 in the upper house of the Parliament.
Currently, the Parliament comprises 781 members, including 542 in the Lok Sabha with one seat vacant and 239 in the Rajya Sabha with five seats vacant.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has decided to abstain from voting in the Vice Presidential elections, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) announced a "boycott", citing public "upset and anger" in Punjab over no help from the central or state government for the ongoing flood crisis. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) also announced that it will not take part in the voting.
