New Delhi : Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday cast his vote in the ongoing Vice Presidential election at Parliament. Polling began at 10 am and will continue until 5 pm, with all Members of Parliament eligible to cast their votes.
The process is being conducted under the supervision of the returning officer, with MPs required to follow specific guidelines to ensure their ballots are valid. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived at Parliament House right as voting started at 10 AM, was the first person to cast his vote.
The counting of votes is set to happen at 6 PM 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. A photo exhibition also adorned the walkways of Parliament, showcasing the oath-taking of the previous 14 other vice presidents the country has had.
However, the elections did not see full participation from all the MPs, as some parties decided to abstain or boycott the elections altogether. Bharat Rashtri Samiti (BRS), having four Rajya Sabha MPs, decided to abstain from the elections, saying that they are going to support the Telangana farmers instead.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) from Punjab, having one MP in the Lok Sabha, said that both the centre and state governments have not properly helped the flood victims in the state, and decided to boycott the election. Biju Janata Dal (BJD) from Odisha, having seven Rajya Sabha MPs, has also decided to abstain.
NDA nominee CP Radhakrishnan is facing joint Opposition Candidate B Sudershan Reddy. The election comes 50 days after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his post as the Vice President on July 21, citing health reasons.