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PM Modi casts first vote in CP Radhakrishnan vs Sudershan Reddy VP faceoff
The Vice Presidential seat became vacant on July 21, the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned citing health reasons.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first voter to cast his vote in the Vice Presidential elections on Tuesday.
Union ministers Kiren Rijiju and Ram Mohan Naidu, along with Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, were appointed as election agents for the Vice Presidential polls.
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The Vice Presidential seat became vacant on July 21, the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned citing health reasons.
NDA’s CP Radhakrishnan is facing Opposition’s B Sudershan Reddy in a direct contest for the Vice Presidential election, with the BJP-led alliance holding a clear advantage following Dhankhar’s sudden resignation.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh said that Dhankhar has remained in an “uncharacteristic silence” for the past 50 days.
On Monday, both the ruling NDA and the Opposition INDIA bloc held separate meetings at the Parliament complex to show their strength.
During the sessions, they briefed their MPs on the election process, conducted mock polls, and urged members to vote correctly.
In the Vice Presidential election, MPs are not bound by party whips, and voting is conducted through a secret ballot.
For the vice-presidential election, the electoral college is made up of 788 members, 245 from the Rajya Sabha and 543 from the Lok Sabha. The 12 nominated Rajya Sabha members can also vote.
At present, the strength of the college is 781 due to six vacant Rajya Sabha seats and one vacant Lok Sabha seat, making the majority mark 391. The NDA holds 425 MPs, while the opposition has the support of 324.
The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), which has 11 MPs in Parliament and is not aligned with either major alliance, has opted to back the NDA’s candidate.
