New Delhi: Voting for the 15th Vice Presidential election commenced on Tuesday morning, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being the first to cast his vote, joined by other prominent ministers and MPs. The election is a high-stakes contest between NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy, with vote counting scheduled for this evening.

This election comes 50 days after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned as Vice President on July 21, citing health reasons. Radhakrishnan, backed by the BJP-led NDA, enjoys strong support with 427 MPs, comfortably above the majority mark of 391, including 293 votes from the Lok Sabha and 134 from the Rajya Sabha. Meanwhile, Reddy has the support of 354 MPs, with 249 from the lower house and 105 from the upper house.

Union Minister Suresh Gopi highlighted the importance of fairness and effectiveness in the election, praising Radhakrishnan as one of the most diligent workers in his ideological system. Both NDA and opposition parties conducted mock polls in advance, instructing MPs to exercise caution to ensure their votes were valid.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav emphasized that voting is a matter of conscience and expressed confidence that the results could favor his party despite NDA’s numerical advantage. The current Parliament comprises 781 members, including 542 in the Lok Sabha with one vacancy and 239 in the Rajya Sabha with five vacancies.

Several parties have decided to abstain or boycott the election. Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) will not participate, while Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) announced a boycott citing public dissatisfaction in Punjab over lack of support from central and state authorities.