Members of both houses of Parliament have been casting their votes in the Vice-Presidential election, which began at 10am on Tuesday and will continue until 5pm.
Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan is standing as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate, while former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy represents the India bloc.
Footage from Parliament showing various political leaders casting their votes for the next Vice President has emerged on social media. In several videos, MPs including Shashi Tharoor, Priyanka Chaturvedi and others can be seen posing for cameras with broad smiles after casting their ballots.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast the first vote when polling opened at 10am. The Vice-Presidential election became necessary after Jagdeep Dhankhar unexpectedly resigned as Vice President on 21st July, citing health reasons.
The electoral college comprises 781 Members of Parliament, 42 from the Lok Sabha and 238 from the Rajya Sabhan, though seven seats are currently vacant (one in the Lok Sabha, six in the Rajya Sabha). To secure victory, a candidate requires 391 votes, representing a majority.
The ruling NDA has the support of 425 MPs, which includes backing from the YSR Congress Party's 11 members, despite YSRCP not being an official NDA partner. The opposition INDIA alliance has 324 MPs' support. Meanwhile, the Biju Janata Dal (7 MPs) and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (4 MPs) have opted to abstain from the voting process.
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