News Analysis India

Tag: Vice Presidential polls

  • Margaret Alva vs Jagdeep Dhankhar: Polling to elect next Vice-President begins; PM Modi casts vote

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Polling to elect the next Vice President of India began at 10 am, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being among the first ones to cast vote.

    The polling will continue till 5 pm, following which the counting of ballots will take place.

    National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee and former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar (71) is pitted against joint Opposition candidate Margaret Alva (80).

    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.

    Hence, 780 MPs are eligible to cast their ballot in this election.

    NEW DELHI: Polling to elect the next Vice President of India began at 10 am, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being among the first ones to cast vote.

    The polling will continue till 5 pm, following which the counting of ballots will take place.

    National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee and former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar (71) is pitted against joint Opposition candidate Margaret Alva (80).

    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.

    Hence, 780 MPs are eligible to cast their ballot in this election.

  • Margaret Alva vs Jagdeep Dhankhar: Around 93 per cent of MPs vote in vice presidential poll; over 50 MPs skip

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Around 93 per cent polling was recorded in the vice presidential election on Saturday, with more than 50 MPs not exercising their franchise.

    Officials said of the total 780 MPs, as many as 725 MPs voted till 5 pm when the polling concluded.

    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.

    The Trinamool Congress, which has 39 MPs, including 23 in Lok Sabha, has already announced its decision to abstain from the election.

    However, two of its MPs — Sisir Kumar Adhikari and Dibyendu Adhikari — broke ranks and cast their ballots.

    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.

    Margaret Alva at the Vice Presidential election venue. (Photo | EPS)

    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).

    The counting of votes will begin at 6 pm.

    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.

    NEW DELHI: Around 93 per cent polling was recorded in the vice presidential election on Saturday, with more than 50 MPs not exercising their franchise.

    Officials said of the total 780 MPs, as many as 725 MPs voted till 5 pm when the polling concluded.

    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.

    The Trinamool Congress, which has 39 MPs, including 23 in Lok Sabha, has already announced its decision to abstain from the election.

    However, two of its MPs — Sisir Kumar Adhikari and Dibyendu Adhikari — broke ranks and cast their ballots.

    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.

    Margaret Alva at the Vice Presidential election venue. (Photo | EPS)

    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).

    The counting of votes will begin at 6 pm.

    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.

  • Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar named NDA’s Vice Presidential candidate

    By Online Desk

    The BJP on Saturday named Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as its Vice-Presidential candidate. The decision was taken during the meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board earlier in the day.

    The ruling NDA’s nominee has an upper hand in the election as it enjoys a majority in the electoral college.

    Sources said the BJP will also reach out to various parties to seek a consensus over the choice of the candidate. However, the leaders of Opposition parties will meet on Sunday to discuss their own Vice- Presidential candidate.

    The Congress has anointed Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, to reach out to all Opposition leaders to find a consensus candidate. The party has already made it clear that it is not fielding a candidate. With the numbers in favour of the ruling bloc, the contest will be a symbolic one.

    The members of the BJP Parliamentary Board include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari and party president J P Nadda, among others.

    polling to elect the next vice president will be held on August 6 and counting of votes will take place the same day, the Election Commission said on Wednesday.

    The BJP-led NDA has a clear edge in the poll in which members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are eligible to vote.

    ALSO READ | Dhankhar assures monks of steps as per law on Mahua Moitra’s Kali comment

    The notification for the election will be issued on July 5, which will set in motion the nomination process. The last date for filing of nomination papers will be July 19.

    The scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on July 20 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is July 22. The term of incumbent M Venkaiah Naidu ends on August 10. The vice president is also the chairperson of Rajya Sabha.

    The electoral college in the vice presidential election comprises a total of 788 members of both Houses of Parliament.

    Since all the electors are members of both Houses of Parliament, the value of vote of each MP would be the same — one, the EC said.

    The election is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote and the voting at such election is by secret ballot.

    There is no concept of open voting in this election and showing the ballot to anyone under any circumstances in the case of presidential and vice-presidential elections is totally prohibited, the EC cautioned, adding that parties cannot issue whip to its MPs in the matter of voting.

    A nomination paper of a candidate has to be subscribed by at least 20 electors as proposers and by at least other 20 electors as seconders.

    An elector can subscribe to only one nomination paper of a candidate as either a proposer or a seconder. A candidate can file a maximum of four nomination papers. The security deposit for the election is Rs 15,000.

    Unlike the presidential poll where voting takes place in multiple locations as elected MLAs, not nominated, also form part of the electoral college, in the vice presidential election, voting takes place in Parliament House.

    The schedule for the vice presidential election was finalised at a meeting of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey.

    The BJP on Saturday named Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as its Vice-Presidential candidate. The decision was taken during the meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board earlier in the day.

    The ruling NDA’s nominee has an upper hand in the election as it enjoys a majority in the electoral college.

    Sources said the BJP will also reach out to various parties to seek a consensus over the choice of the candidate. However, the leaders of Opposition parties will meet on Sunday to discuss their own Vice- Presidential candidate.

    The Congress has anointed Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, to reach out to all Opposition leaders to find a consensus candidate. The party has already made it clear that it is not fielding a candidate. With the numbers in favour of the ruling bloc, the contest will be a symbolic one.

    The members of the BJP Parliamentary Board include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari and party president J P Nadda, among others.

    polling to elect the next vice president will be held on August 6 and counting of votes will take place the same day, the Election Commission said on Wednesday.

    The BJP-led NDA has a clear edge in the poll in which members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are eligible to vote.

    ALSO READ | Dhankhar assures monks of steps as per law on Mahua Moitra’s Kali comment

    The notification for the election will be issued on July 5, which will set in motion the nomination process. The last date for filing of nomination papers will be July 19.

    The scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on July 20 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is July 22. The term of incumbent M Venkaiah Naidu ends on August 10. The vice president is also the chairperson of Rajya Sabha.

    The electoral college in the vice presidential election comprises a total of 788 members of both Houses of Parliament.

    Since all the electors are members of both Houses of Parliament, the value of vote of each MP would be the same — one, the EC said.

    The election is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote and the voting at such election is by secret ballot.

    There is no concept of open voting in this election and showing the ballot to anyone under any circumstances in the case of presidential and vice-presidential elections is totally prohibited, the EC cautioned, adding that parties cannot issue whip to its MPs in the matter of voting.

    A nomination paper of a candidate has to be subscribed by at least 20 electors as proposers and by at least other 20 electors as seconders.

    An elector can subscribe to only one nomination paper of a candidate as either a proposer or a seconder. A candidate can file a maximum of four nomination papers. The security deposit for the election is Rs 15,000.

    Unlike the presidential poll where voting takes place in multiple locations as elected MLAs, not nominated, also form part of the electoral college, in the vice presidential election, voting takes place in Parliament House.

    The schedule for the vice presidential election was finalised at a meeting of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey.

  • Amarinder Singh likely to be named NDA candidate for Vice President

    By Online Desk

    Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is in the race to become the next Vice President of India.

    Sources said that the NDA is likely to name the fromer Punjab Chief Minister as its candidate for the Vice President’s post.

    “Several names are doing the rounds of which the prominent ones are Amarinder Singh, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The vice presidential candidate will be finalised by the top BJP leadership and the Parliamentary Board,” said a BJP insider.

    Singh is currently in London for a back surgery. However, a close aide of the former Punjab Chief Minister said that no confirmation has been received yet proposing Singh’s name as NDA’s nominee for the Vice President’s post.

    ALSO READ | Capt Amarinder Singh to merge party with BJP, claims saffron party leader

    There is also a buzz in BJP circles that incumbent Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu could be given a second term, but as of now there have been no official deliberations on this.

    Singh left the Congress and formed the Punjab Lok Congress after he was removed from the post of Punjab Chief Minister last year. He contested the recent Punjab Assembly polls in alliance with the BJP.

    The BJP-led NDA candidate is all set to become the next Vice President as the voters are the Members of Parliament and the BJP has a huge mandate in the Lok Sabha while in the Rajya Sabha, it is the single-largest party having more than 90 seats.

    In the last election in 2017, the Opposition had fielded Gopalkrishna Gandhi but he lost to Naidu. Naidu polled 516 votes while Gandhi could manage only 244 votes.

    The Vice Presidential election is scheduled to be held on August 6.

    (With agency inputs)