New Delhi [India], September 9 : Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday cast his vote for the Vice Presidential election at the Parliament House.
Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi also cast their vote for the Vice Presidential election at the Parliament House.
In a rare show, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge arrived together at the Parliament House to cast their vote for the Vice Presidential election. Both the leaders were seen holding each other's hand.
The voting for the 15th Vice Presidential election began on Tuesday morning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi exercising his franchise along with other prominent ministers and MPs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to cast his vote.
NDA's CP Radhakrishnan is pitted against joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy. Both the leaders are contesting against each other in a high-stakes election as it came 50 days after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his post as the Vice President on July 21, citing health reasons.
Senior Congress Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala said that the VP elections were a fight to safeguard the constitution.
"BJP and the PM should tell us that if the Vice President election can take place on the ballot paper, then why not the election of MPs and MLAs. If Zilla Parishad election can take place on ballot paper, then why not the election of MPs and MLAs...As far as VP elections are concerned, for Congress and MPs of the entire Opposition this is a fight for safeguarding the traditions and decorum of Constitution. For us, this fight is not limited to just casting a vote. This is a fight to save the Parliament's decorum, traditions, values and parameters," he said.
However, Union Minister Chirag Paswan said that with a united NDA backing Radhakrishnan he was set to win by a large margin.
"NDA is united and we are standing in support of NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan. Many opposition MPs have also bestowed their trust upon NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan...If they hear the voice of their conscience, then NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan will win the elections by a big margin," he said.
Following the voting, the counting of votes will take place in the evening today.
Both the BJP-led NDA and opposition parties held mock polls ahead of the crucial day earlier, telling the MPs to be cautious in exercising their franchise lest their vote be invalid.
It seems that NDA's candidate CP Radhakrishnan has an edge with 427 MPs, well above the majority mark of 391, supporting him for the post. In the Lok Sabha, Radhakrishnan is expected to receive 293 votes, and 134 votes are likely to be cast in his favour in the Rajya Sabha.
Joint opposition candidate Reddy is backed by 354 MPs, with 249 in the lower house and 105 in the upper house of the Parliament.
Currently, the Parliament comprises 781 members, including 542 in the Lok Sabha with one seat vacant and 239 in the Rajya Sabha with five seats vacant.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) decided to abstain from voting in the Vice Presidential elections. Meanwhile, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) will not take part in the Vice Presidential poll.
Moreover, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) announced that it will "boycott" the Vice Presidential election, given that people in Punjab are "upset and angry" over no help from the central or state government.