New Delhi [India], September 9 : Congress MP Tanuj Punia on Tuesday described the Vice Presidential Election as a "battle of ideologies," accusing one side of attempting to exploit constitutional institutions for political gain.
Speaking to ANI, Punia said, "It is a battle of ideologies in which on one side are people who want to use constitutional institutions for their own political benefit. On the other side is a candidate who has always fought for the Constitution..."
Commenting on the decision of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) to abstain from the Vice Presidential Election, Punia suggested that their absence would tilt the numbers in favour of the opposition.
"It will definitely have an impact, and if people are abstaining, then their number will reduce, and our number will increase even more than it is," he stated.
Polling to elect the 15th Vice President has concluded in Parliament.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived at Parliament House when voting started at 10 AM, was the first person to cast his vote. The counting of votes will beheld in the same room where the voting took place.
The contest is between the NDA nominee and Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan and the joint Opposition candidate, former Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy.
Leaders across party lines, from Union Ministers to Opposition leaders, took part, giving their choice for the VP candidate through a paper ballot.
Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Kiren Rijiju also cast their vote. The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who was presiding over the upper house proceedings in the absence of the Vice President, also cast his vote among others.
From the Opposition's side, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Parliamentary party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, MPs Shashi Tharoor, Priyanka Gandhi, and Jairam Ramesh cast their vote in the morning. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, among others, also voted.
Jailed Baramulla MP, known as 'Engineer Rashid' got special permission from court to allow him to cast his vote.
The election comes 50 days after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his post as the Vice President on July 21, citing health reasons. (ANI)