Jagdeep Dhankhar wins Vice-Presidential poll

NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar was declared elected as the Vice President of India on Saturday after he bagged 528 votes against his rival candidate Margaret Alva’s 182. Dhankhar, 71, will succeed M Venkaiah Naidu who demits office August 10. The Returning Officer of the Vice-Presidential election said of the total 780 electors, 725 cast their ballots but 15 votes were found to be invalid. The turnout was 92.94 per cent, he said, adding that a candidate needed 356 votes to get elected. Of all the valid votes, Dhankhar secured 74.36 per cent. He has the highest winning margin in the last six Vice-Presidential elections held since 1997. As many as 55 MPs did not vote in the Vice-Presidential election held from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday.

The Trinamool Congress, which has a total of 36 MPs, including 23 in Lok Sabha, had abstained from the election. However, two of its MPs had cast their ballots. The numbers were stacked in favour of Dhankhar as the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) enjoys an absolute majority in Lok Sabha and has clear advantage in Rajya Sabha. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh cast their ballots early in the day, while Opposition leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi voted a little after noon, the officials said. Polling to elect the next Vice President of India began at 10 am, with Modi being among the first ones to vote. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in a wheelchair and needed support to stand up and vote.

CPM MP John Brittas was among those who helped the veteran leader in exercising his franchise. The two-term former Prime Minister greeted those present with folded hands. Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President J P Nadda, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Commerce Minister and Leader of House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal were among the leaders who turned up early at the Parliament House. Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi, who has contracted COVID-19, voted wearing a PPE kit. “Satisfied that I could perform my duties as a third term parliamentarian in the #VP elections, even if in extraterrestrial attire!” he tweeted.

While two BJP MPs — Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dhotre — did not vote, among the prominent Opposition MPs who were absent during voting included Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shafiqur Rahman Barq (both Samajwadi Party). With the ruling BJP having an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha and 91 members in the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar has a clear edge over his rival. He is likely to succeed incumbent M Venkaiah Naidu, whose tenure ends on August 10. All MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are entitled to vote in the Vice-Presidential election. The two Houses of Parliament together have a sanctioned strength of 788 MPs, of which there are eight vacancies in the Upper House.