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New Delhi: The Nation gears up as the voting for the 17th vice-presidential election began on Tuesday morning, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi casting the first vote at Parliament House.
The election has set up a direct contest between the NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan and I.N.D.I.A bloc candidate B Sudarshan Reddy, both hailing from southern India.
The election was necessitated after Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on July 21, citing health reasons. Dhankhar had two years left in his tenure when he stepped down, making this only the third time in independent India that a Vice-President resigned mid-term. Previously, VV Giri and R Venkataraman had left the post to contest presidential elections.
The new Vice-President, once elected, will serve a full five-year term as the country’s second-highest constitutional authority and as ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
As per Article 66 of the Constitution, the Vice-President is elected by members of both Houses of Parliament through proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. The electoral college for this election includes 233 elected members of the Rajya Sabha (five seats are vacant), 12 nominated members, and 542 members of the Lok Sabha (one seat vacant), bringing the total strength to 782 MP’s. Each MP’s vote carries equal weight.
While the NDA and I.N.D.I.A bloc are locked in high-stakes contest, two key regional parties: the BRS and the BJD, have decided to abstain from the election. Their absence may influence the final outcome.
The results of the election are expected to be announced later in the day once counting concludes.