Jagdeep Dhankhar vs Margaret Alva: Counting of votes underway to elect next Vice President of India

Vice Presidential election 2022: The polling that ended at 5 pm sealed the fate of NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar and Opposition’s pick Margaret Alva.

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New Delhi: The counting of votes began for the Vice Presidential election 2022 after polling ended at 5 pm in Parliament House, with around 93 per cent final voter turnout on Saturday (August 6). Citing officials, PTI reported that over 50 MPs did not cast their votes to choose M Venkaiah Naidu’s successor. The polls sealed the fate of NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar and the Opposition’s pick Margaret Alva. The counting began at 6 pm under the supervision of the Lok Sabha Secretary General, who is the returning officer for the election.

Delhi | Counting process underway for the Vice Presidential elections in Parliament pic.twitter.com/h70xET0BMN

— ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2022

How many MPs voted in Vice Presidential election 2022?

Out of the total 780 MPs in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, as many as 725 MPs voted till 5 pm when the voting concluded. Voting for the new Vice President of India had started at 10 am. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh voted early in the morning. Opposition leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi voted later in the day, officials said. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president J P Nadda, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Commerce Minister and Leader of House in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal were also among the early voters. 

The Trinamool Congress, which has 39 MPs, abstained from voting, however, two of its MPs -- Sisir Kumar Adhikari and Dibyendu Adhikari -- broke ranks and exercised their franchise. 

Those who did not cast their votes included BJP MPs Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dhotre and Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav and Shafiqur Rahman Barq among prominent leaders. 

Who can vote in VP elections?

All members of parliaments of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, can cast their vote in the vice presidential election. The collective sanctioned strength of both the Houses is 788 MPs, of which Rajya Sabha has eight vacancies. 

Jagdeep Dhankhar vs Margaret Alva

Former West Bengal Governor Dhankhar has a clear edge over his rival Alva as the ruling BJP has an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha and 91 members in the Upper House. He is likely to be M Venkaiah Naidu's successor, whose tenure as the VP ends on August 10.