Vice-Presidential election: Venkaiah Naidu, Gopalkrishna Gandhi contest tomorrow, all you need to know

Here is everything you need to know about the Vice-Presidential polls on Saturday when Venkaiah Naidu and Gopalkrishna Gandhi will go head to head.

New Delhi / Former Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu is set to contest with former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi for the post of vice-president of India on Saturday. The polling will see MPs of both Houses gearing up at Parliament to cast their vote. The fight appears to be tilted towards NDA candidate Naidu, owing to the BJP’s majority in the Lok Sabha. NDA has 338 members in the 545-member Lok Sabha with BJP itself occupying 282 seats.

The term of incumbent Vice-President Hamid Ansari, who held the position for two consecutive terms, will come to an end on August 10. As new Vice-President, the winner of the polls will be appointed as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Vice-Presidential election:

When will the voting start and end tomorrow?

According to Election Commission officials, the voting will begin on Friday at 10 am and will carry on till 5 pm. The counting of votes will start at 7 pm and the result will be declared Saturday evening.

How is the Vice-President of India elected?

Unlike Presidential polls, the election to appoint Vice-President is conducted through a secret ballot where only members of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha get to cast their votes. MPs will be made to use special pens to make their choice and will not be allowed to carry their own pens. Any vote cast using personal pens will be declared void. The candidate who attains one plus 50 per cent of the total votes will be declared as the winner of the polls.

How parties are expected to vote?

While all parties under the NDA have given their support to Naidu, JD(U), which recently formed the government in Bihar along with the BJP and had offered its support to NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind in the Presidential election, said it will support the candidature of Gandhi. On being asked owhat he thinks about Nitish Kumar’s support to him, Gandhi said, “If JDU MPs vote for me as a result of their own assessment of the option, that would be a sign of their independence from NDA in the national context.”

Apart from JD(U), Odisha’s BJD has also said that it will align itself with Opposition nominee Gandhi. BJD had also voted for Kovind for President earlier. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also extended its support to Gandhi. In a tweet, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “AAP will support Sh Gopal Krishna Gandhi for VP. Eighteen other opposition parties have offered its support to Gandhi, including Congress, CPI(M), CPI, NCP, National Conference and DMK.

Apart from NDA members, TRS, TDP and both the factions of AIADMK have promised their support to Naidu.