Venkaiah Naidu expectedly wins vice presidential election, bags over 500 votes
Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu today won the vice-presidential election. As vice president, Naidu, a former union minister, will hold the crucial post of the Rajya Saba chairman.
Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Venakaiah Naidu today became Vice-President-elect. The former union minister's win in the vice-presidential polls was expected with the BJP's strong numbers reducing the contest between Naidu and Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the Opposition's candidate, to a dead rubber.
Naidu pipped Gandhi, winning 516 votes in the election as opposed to the Opposition candidate's 244 votes.
Voting in the vice-presidential poll was held today, with 771 of the 785 eligible Members of Parliament casting their votes. 14 MPs (2 from BJP, 2 from INC, 2 from IUML, 4 from TMC, 1 from NCP; 1 from PMK and 2 Independents) were absent during voting.
As vice president, the 68-year-old Naidu, who was previously a senior minister Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, becomes the de facto chairman of Rajya Sabha. Naidu's overseeing of Rajya Sabha sessions will work to provide the government with a boost in the upper house, where the National Democratic Alliance does not yet have a majority.
Naidu's election to the V-P's office, also means all of the constitutional posts in India (except the non-partisan Chief Justice of India) are now controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party - the President of India (Ram Nath Kovind), Vice President of India (Venkaiah Naidu), Prime Minister of India (Narendra Modi) and Speaker of Lok Sabha (Sumitra Mahajan).
Born to a farmer's family in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, Naidu is a dyed-in-the-wool BJP worker who has been in active politics (including student politics) for over four decades. He was imprisoned during the Emergency between 1975 and 1977 and after coming out of jail, he became the Janata Party Youth Wing president of Andhra Pradesh.
The year 1978 marked his entry into public office after he was elected to the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. Rising through the ranks, Naidu went on to become the BJP national president in July, 2002. However, he held the post briefly, stepped down in December the same year. Two years later, he again became the BJP chief.
Naidu is extremely familiar with the upper house of Parliament that he will now be chairing. He was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1998 and won subsequent re-elections in 2004, 20110 and 2016. His time in Parliament has saw him chairing and being a member of several important committees.
771 of 785 votes were cast when polling closed at 5 pm, registering 98.21 per cent voting. 90 per cent votes were polled within the first two hours, till 12 pm.
Two BJP leaders - Sanwarlal Jat and Vijay Goel - are hospitalised and could not vote, BJP leaders said. Two MPs from Kerala, whose flight was delayed, were not allowed to vote after 5 pm.
"I am a non-party man. Majority of the political parties are supporting me. I am confident that they will vote in the polls," Venkaiah Naidu told reporters this morning. "NDA's pick is a very experienced person. My contest is not with him, though it's on technical grounds. This election is not between 2 parties or individuals," said Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the opposition's nominee.
Members of Parliament used special pens for marking their choice in the election.
The Biju Janata Dal and the Janta Dal (United) which had supported NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind for the post of president, have decided to back opposition's nominee Mr Gandhi.
Though the JD(U) has broken ties with 'mahagathbandhan' and joined hands with the BJP to form a new government in Bihar, it will vote for Mr Gandhi, a former governor of West Bengal.
No whip could be issued by political parties as the election is through a secret ballot.
The Electoral College which elects the Vice President, who is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, consists of elected and nominated members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.
The total strength of the two Houses is 790, but there are two vacancies in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha. BJP MP in Lok Sabha Chhedi Paswan is barred from casting vote following a judicial pronouncement.
In the 545-member Lok Sabha, the BJP has 281 members. The NDA led by BJP, has 338 members. In the 245-member Rajya Sabha, the BJP has 58 members making it the single-largest party, while the Congress has 57. The one who gets 50 per cent and one vote of the total valid votes cast will win the poll.
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