The Vice-Presidential election commenced on Tuesday at the New Parliament Building in New Delhi, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi casting the first vote.
Soon after voting, PM Modi said on X, “Voted in the 2025 Vice President election.”
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has fielded Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, who faces the INDIA bloc’s nominee, former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy.
The polling is scheduled from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and Ram Mohan Naidu, along with Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, have been named official polling agents.
Counting of votes will begin at 6:00 pm, and the result is likely to be declared later in the evening.
Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, currently a Rajya Sabha member, also arrived in a wheelchair to exercise his franchise.
The Vice President, who also serves as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, is elected by an electoral college of 781 parliamentarians, comprising 542 elected members of the Lok Sabha and 239 from the Rajya Sabha (233 elected and 12 nominated, with six vacancies across both Houses). Each vote carries equal weight and polling is conducted through a secret ballot. A simple majority of 391 votes is required for victory.
The vacancy arose after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post on July 21, citing health reasons.
