VP election to be held today; NDA’s CP Radhakrishnan favored to win

The Vice President election will be held today, with members of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha participating in the voting process.

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Only the 542 current members of the Lok Sabha and 239 members of the Rajya Sabha are eligible to vote, making a total of 781 members in the electoral college. A candidate requires at least 391 votes to secure victory. Voting will take place in the new Parliament building from 10 AM to 5 PM, followed by the counting of votes scheduled to begin at 6 PM. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has nominated Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate, while the INDI Alliance has fielded former Supreme Court judge B Sudarshen Reddy. Given the NDA’s clear majority in both Houses of Parliament, their candidate is widely seen as the frontrunner.

As per Article 66(1) of the Constitution, the Vice President of India is elected by an electoral college consisting of the elected members of the Rajya Sabha, the nominated members of the Rajya Sabha and the elected members of the Lok Sabha. Under Section 4, subsections (4) and (1) of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Election Act, 1952, the Election Commission issued a notification on August 7. Therefore, in the 17th Vice President election, there are currently 781 eligible voters, and a candidate must secure a minimum of 391 votes to be declared the winner. Considering the strength and political equations in both Houses, the NDA has 293 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 134 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. This gives the NDA a solid total of at least 427 votes. The Opposition INDI Alliance has 249 members in the Lok Sabha and 105 members in the Rajya Sabha, making a total of 354 votes.