Polling for vice-presidential election concludes, counting under way

Polling for the election of the vice president of India concluded on Saturday around 5 pm at Parliament House in New Delhi with over 90% votes. The ballots will be counted post-polling. By late Saturday evening, the returning officer will announce the name of the next vice president.

The polling began at 10 am.

Among the two candidates in the fray, the NDA’s Jagdeep Dhankar was supported by various regional parties including the Janata Dal (United), YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK, Shiv Sena, Shiromani Akali Dal and is set for an easy win with over 515 votes. He has a clear edge over the Opposition’s Margaret Alva, who is supported by parties such as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and is likely to get over 200 votes.

For the 16th Vice-Presidential election, the Electoral College consists of 233 elected members of Rajya Sabha, 12 nominated members of Rajya Sabha, and 543 elected members of Lok Sabha, adding up to 788 members.