Voting begins for vice presidential election; PM Modi first to cast vote

Voting began for the vice presidential poll on Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the first to cast his voteThe poll is witnessing a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy with the BJPled alliance having a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep DhankharThe stage is set for a contest between Radhakrishnan and retired Supreme Court Judge B Sudershan Reddy who has been named as the joint opposition candidate for the Vice Presidents postUnion Minister Suresh Gopi said This election is not about choosing between anyone It is an election aimed at selecting fairness truthfulness and effectiveness which are most needed for the citizens of the country whether they live inside or outside the country As a person I found CP Radhakrishnan to be the best worker or one of the best among thousands of workers in my ideological systemAmong the early voters were Union ministers Rajnath Singh Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kiren Rijiju Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Harivansh BJP MP Kangana Ranaut and SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav were among others who came to cast their voteMembers of both Houses of Parliament will cast their votes in the Parliament House between 10 AM and 5 PM on Tuesday Counting votes will begin at 6 PM and the results will be announced late eveningMembers of Parliament are not bound by party whips to vote in the vice presidential election which takes place under a secret ballot systemThe electoral college for the vice presidential election comprises a total of 788 members 245 from the Rajya Sabha and 543 from the Lok Sabha The 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha are also eligible to vote in the electionThe present strength of the electoral college is 781 as six seats are vacant in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha This puts the majority mark at 391 The NDA has 425 MPs while the opposition camp has the backing of 324Joint opposition candidate Reddy is backed by 354 MPs with 249 in the lower house and 105 in the upper house of the ParliamentSP chief Akhilesh Yadav said Numbers are fine but this voting is done on the basis of ones conscience The entire country knows that the BJP is a useandthrow party The same thing happened with the Vice President who is missingThe numbers will be in our favourCurrently the Parliament comprises 781 members including 542 in the Lok Sabha with one seat vacant and 239 in the Rajya Sabha with five seats vacantBiju 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 pollMoreover 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 governmentWith inputs from Agencies