New Delhi [India], September 9 : The counting for the Vice Presidential elections began in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Members of Parliament voted today from 10 am to 5 pm to elect the 15th Vice President.
A total of 13 MPs abstained from voting in the Vice Presidential elections. The list includes seven MPs from Biju Janata Dal, four from Bharath Rashtra Samithi, one MP from Shiromani Akali Dal and one independent MP.
National Democratic Alliance nominee and Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan and INDIA bloc candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy are competing for the Vice President position.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast the first vote in the VP elections, followed by other big leaders, including Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda, Kiren Rijiju and others.
Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, MPs Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and others also voted in the Vice Presidential polls.
The election comes 50 days after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his post as the Vice President on July 21, citing health reasons.
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.