Votes will be cast for the Vice Presidential election on Tuesday. The results are expected to be declared by the evening. Two candidates are contesting this election. CP Radhakrishnan represents the NDA, the ruling coalition, while B Sudarshan Reddy, a former judge of the Supreme Court, is the candidate from the INDIA alliance. The main competition is between these two individuals, and the victor will be appointed as the Vice President. It is essential to understand the electoral calculations before the election.
The Lok Sabha has 542 MPs, and the Rajya Sabha has 239 MPs. The total number of MPs eligible to vote, combining both houses, is 781. To secure a win, a candidate requires a minimum of 391 votes. However, excluding the BJD (Biju Janata Dal) of Naveen Patnaik and the BRS (Bharat Rashtra Samithi) of former Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao, the number of MPs participating in the voting reduces to 770, as both parties have chosen to abstain from the election.
This implies a candidate requires 386 votes to achieve victory. The NDA possesses a total of 425 MPs. With the additional support from Jagan Reddy’s party (11 MPs), the tally rises to 436. Conversely, the INDIA bloc has a strength of 324 MPs, resulting in a difference of 112 votes between the two.
It is crucial to consider that there are currently 10 independent MPs and those separated from their parties, including Swati Maliwal and Girdhari Lal Yadav, whose voting intentions remain uncertain. Based on the figures, the NDA candidate’s victory appears highly probable.
Shiromani Akali Dal’s Decision to Boycott the Election
The Shiromani Akali Dal has declared its decision to boycott the Vice Presidential election. A written statement released by the Shiromani Akali Dal indicated that Punjab is currently grappling with severe flooding. However, neither the Punjab government nor the central government has extended support to the people of Punjab. Therefore, taking into account the sentiments of the people of Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal believes that it is appropriate to stand with the people of Punjab rather than participate in the election process.