New Delhi: The election for the Vice President of India will take place today following the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on the very first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Members of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will cast their votes between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at Room F-101, Parliament House Annexe. Counting will begin at 6 p.m., with results expected the same evening. NDA has fielded senior leader and former Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, while the INDIA bloc is backing retired Supreme Court judge B. Sudarshan Reddy, making it a direct contest.
Both alliances have taken measures to ensure disciplined voting. The BJP conducted a two-day workshop for its MPs, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the opposition side, Congress organized a mock poll at Constitution Hall on Monday, followed by a dinner hosted by AICC president and opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge. Sudarshan Reddy, who has appealed to MPs across parties for support, has stressed that he is contesting beyond party lines. Rajya Sabha Secretary-General P.C. Mody will oversee the election as the Returning Officer.
A total of 770 MPs are eligible to vote, with 386 votes required for a majority. Numerically, NDA appears to have an edge with support from BJP, TDP, JD(U), Shiv Sena (Shinde), Janasena, YSRCP, and others, totaling around 422 MPs. INDIA bloc, with Congress, DMK, TMC, SP, and several regional parties, is estimated to command around 324 votes. While Radhakrishnan is known as a staunch nationalist with a long political career, Sudarshan Reddy is a liberal voice with decades of judicial experience. The INDIA bloc hopes for cross-voting, but the NDA candidate holds a clear numerical advantage. Prime Minister Modi will be the first to cast his vote in this closely watched contest.