The voting for the Vice President is scheduled for September 9th. Voting hours will be from 10 am to 5 pm, and the counting of votes will commence at 6 pm, with results expected by the evening. The NDA has nominated C.P. Radhakrishnan, and the India bloc has put forth B. Sudarshan Reddy, a former Supreme Court Justice.
The Vice Presidential election involves voting by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, including nominated Rajya Sabha members. A whip is not issued, and the voting is conducted through a secret ballot, granting MPs the freedom to vote as they choose. However, votes usually align with party lines, although cross-voting has occurred historically, and may occur this time as well.
The NDA is focused on securing every vote. Currently, the Rajya Sabha has 239 members, and the Lok Sabha has 542, with 391 votes needed for victory. The NDA currently has 425 MPs and anticipates additional votes from other parties. The YSRCP has declared it will vote for the NDA, bringing with it 7 Rajya Sabha and 4 Lok Sabha MPs, totaling 436 votes in favor of the NDA. The BJP hopes that Swati Maliwal of the Aam Aadmi Party will also vote for the NDA.
The BJD has yet to declare its position. The BRS has decided to abstain from the Vice Presidential election. The BJD might support the NDA, with BJD leader Naveen Patnaik in Delhi possibly in discussions with BJP leaders regarding support. The BRS has 4 Rajya Sabha MPs, and the BJD has 7.
As for the opposition, the voting preferences of 3 of the 7 independent Lok Sabha members remain uncertain. Similarly, the stance of the Akali Dal, ZPM, and VOTTP, each with one MP, is not clear. The opposition has 324 votes. The winning margin could be between 100 and 125 votes.
In 2022, Jagdeep Dhankhar defeated Margaret Alva by 346 votes. The margin of victory is expected to be smaller this time, as the opposition is in a more advantageous position.
To prepare for the election, the NDA and the India bloc are conducting training sessions and mock polls for their MPs to prevent any votes from being rendered invalid. NDA sources suggest that around 150 votes are expected against the opposition’s candidate in the Rajya Sabha, and the opposition will likely get less than 90 votes.