14 MPs who abstained from voting in Vice Presidential Election

The Vice President elections witnessed a direct contest between the ruling NDA’s CP Radhakrishnan and the joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy. The BJP-led alliance emerged victorious in the results with CP Radhakrishnan becoming the 15th Vice President of India.

New Delhi:

CP Radhakrishnan became the 15th Vice President of India after securing 452 votes against INDIA bloc’s B Sudershan Reddy, who secured 300 votes. Lawmakers from both Houses of Parliament cast their votes, which began at 10 am and concluded at 5 pm. The ruling NDA nominated Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan, while the Opposition fielded former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy.

According to Rajya Sabha Secretary-General PC Mody, who is the returning officer, polling was held in Room No. F-101, Vasudha, Parliament House. Counting of votes began at 6 PM.

How the numbers stacked up?

The 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 election. The 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 324.

14 MPs who abstained from voting

Three parties, however, announced that they will boycott the poll, which was necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.

11 Rajya Sabha members, including seven MPs of the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and four MPs of the KCR-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), are abstaining from voting in the Vice Presidential election. Three Lok Sabha members, including two independents and one Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP, have also decided to boycott the election.