NEW DELHI: Polling to elect the next Vice President of India is underway on Saturday and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to cast his vote in the Parliament House.
“Voted in the 2022 Vice President election,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted after casting the vote.
While former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in a wheelchair and needed support to stand up and vote. CPM MP John Brittas was among those who helped the veteran leader in exercising his franchise. The two-term prime minister greeted those present with folded hands.
Vice-Presidential elections 2022: Live updates
Here are the key points-
* The voting, which began at 10 am, will conclude at 5 pm.
* After counting of votes in the evening, the next Vice President will be elected.
* Home minister Amit Shah and education minister Dharmendra Pradhan were among the leaders who turned up early at the Parliament House.
* Defence minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president J P Nadda, and Commerce Minister and Leader of House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal arrived together to cast their vote.
* Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union minister of state for science and technology Jitendra Singh, BJP chief whip Rakesh Singh, Telangana Rashtra Samithi MPs and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress party’s Raghu Rama Krishna Raju vote were among the others that have cast their vote so far.
* The Vice President will take the oath of office on August 11, as the term of the incumbent Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu ends on August 10.
* India’s second largest Opposition party after the Congress, the Trinamool Congress had decided to abstain from the voting, saying it ‘not been consulted’ on Margaret Alva’s candidature.
* Opposition candidate Alva is contesting against NDA’s candidate and former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar in the polls.
* National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Dhankhar has the support from regional parties like the Janata Dal (United), YSRCP, BSP and Shiv Sena, and is set for an easy win while opposition candidate Alva is being supported by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
NDA nominee and former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar (71) is pitted against joint Opposition candidate Margaret Alva (80).
With the ruling BJP having an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha and 91 members in the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar has a clear edge over his rival. He is likely to succeed incumbent M Venkaiah Naidu, whose tenure ends on August 10.
All MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are entitled to vote in the vice presidential election.
The two Houses of Parliament together have a sanctioned strength of 788 MPs, of which there are eight vacancies in the Upper House.
Hence, 780 MPs are eligible to cast their ballot in this election
(With inputs from agencies)
“Voted in the 2022 Vice President election,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted after casting the vote.
While former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in a wheelchair and needed support to stand up and vote. CPM MP John Brittas was among those who helped the veteran leader in exercising his franchise. The two-term prime minister greeted those present with folded hands.
Vice-Presidential elections 2022: Live updates
Here are the key points-
* The voting, which began at 10 am, will conclude at 5 pm.
* After counting of votes in the evening, the next Vice President will be elected.
* Home minister Amit Shah and education minister Dharmendra Pradhan were among the leaders who turned up early at the Parliament House.
* Defence minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president J P Nadda, and Commerce Minister and Leader of House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal arrived together to cast their vote.
* Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union minister of state for science and technology Jitendra Singh, BJP chief whip Rakesh Singh, Telangana Rashtra Samithi MPs and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress party’s Raghu Rama Krishna Raju vote were among the others that have cast their vote so far.
* The Vice President will take the oath of office on August 11, as the term of the incumbent Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu ends on August 10.
* India’s second largest Opposition party after the Congress, the Trinamool Congress had decided to abstain from the voting, saying it ‘not been consulted’ on Margaret Alva’s candidature.
* Opposition candidate Alva is contesting against NDA’s candidate and former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar in the polls.
* National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Dhankhar has the support from regional parties like the Janata Dal (United), YSRCP, BSP and Shiv Sena, and is set for an easy win while opposition candidate Alva is being supported by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).
NDA nominee and former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar (71) is pitted against joint Opposition candidate Margaret Alva (80).
With the ruling BJP having an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha and 91 members in the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar has a clear edge over his rival. He is likely to succeed incumbent M Venkaiah Naidu, whose tenure ends on August 10.
All MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are entitled to vote in the vice presidential election.
The two Houses of Parliament together have a sanctioned strength of 788 MPs, of which there are eight vacancies in the Upper House.
Hence, 780 MPs are eligible to cast their ballot in this election
(With inputs from agencies)
