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

New Delhi: Voting was underway to elect a new vice president on Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being the first to exercise his franchise in the contest between NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy.

Modi, accompanied by Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Jitendra Singh and L Murugan, cast his vote in the polling booth set up in Room No. 101 Vasudha in Parliament building.

"Voted in the 2025 Vice President election," Modi said in a post on X, before embarking on a visit to flood-hit states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

Among the early voters were Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Meghwal, Pralhad Joshi, Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Harivansh, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav, Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Nasser Hussain.

The 92-year-old Gowda arrived at the polling booth in a wheel chair. Union minister Nitin Gadkari and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge were seen walking hand in hand to the polling booth.

The poll is witnessing a direct contest between Radhakrishnan and Reddy, with the ruling NDA having a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Members of both Houses of Parliament are eligible to cast their votes in the Parliament House between 10 am and 5 pm. Counting votes will begin at 6 pm, and the results will be announced late evening.

Union Ministers Rijiju and Ram Mohan Naidu along with Shiv Sena Lok Sabha member Shrikant Shinde have been appointed as official election agents of the ruling NDA for the election process.

"We are not just assured, but confident of victory," Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told reporters as the polling got underway.

"I am only trying to awaken the conscience of the people. This is a fight for the Constitution, it will continue. I thank the people for the love I got and the response of the civil society," Reddy, the joint opposition candidate for the vice presidential poll, said.

Members of Parliament are not bound by party whips to vote in the vice presidential election, which takes place under a secret ballot system.

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.