NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to cast his vote in the Vice-Presidential Eection 2025, billed as an ideological battle between Bharatiya Janata Party-National Democratic Alliance's (BJP-NDA) C. P. Radhakrishnan and Congress-led INDIA bloc’s B. Sudershan Reddy.
The voting began at 10 am and will continue till 5 pm. By late evening, the results will be official.
After Modi, several other MPs, including Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, her daughter and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, BJP Chief JP Nadda and several other MPs also cast their votes.
NDA’s nominee Radhakrishnan is poised to become the new Vice President of India given the numbers are in his favour.
INDIA bloc’s Reddy is also hopeful of his victory. He is optimistic about the “conscience-based votes”, a fairy-tale situation given the current political climate.
The numbers overwhelmingly favour NDA. The electoral college for the Vice President’s election has a total of 781, including 239 Rajya Sabha MPs and 542 Lok Sabha MPs, who are eligible to vote.
Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and K Chandrasekhar Rao’s BRS have decided to abstain from the voting, a move seen by the Opposition as an indirect support to the NDA.
This brings the total votes down to 770, making 386 the majority mark. The BJP-led NDA has 435 MPs and the alliance is also likely to get the support of 11 YSR Congress MPs and AAP’s rebel Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal.
In contrast, the Opposition INDIA bloc has a combined strength of 324 MPs.
A twist can not be ruled out completely as the voting is conducted through a secret ballot and all votes carry equal value.
Both Radhakrishnan and Reddy hail from South India and there is an outside chance some of the South Indian MPs could have a change of heart at the last moment.
But Reddy will need more than just some of the South Indian MPs. He will need at least 50 votes from the NDA to cause an upset that means almost all NDA allies cross-voting. - The Statesman/ANN
