Voting for the 2025 Vice-Presidential election began on Tuesday morning, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi casting the first vote. The contest is being held nearly two months after former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post, citing health concerns. This year’s election sees a direct face-off between, CP Radhakrishnan, representing the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and B Sudershan Reddy, the nominee of the INDIA bloc.
CP Radhakrishnan, the Governor of Maharashtra, has held governorships in multiple states. B Sudershan Reddy, on the other hand, is a former Supreme Court judge and a fresh entrant into electoral politics. The polling began at 10 AM and is scheduled to continue until 5 PM, with the counting of votes starting at 6 PM, according to the Election Commission of India. The final result is expected later tonight.
“The polling will take place from 10 am and close at 5 pm on September 9 and the result will be declared on Tuesday,” the Rajya Sabha Secretariat announced. This is the first time voting for the Vice Presidential election is taking place at the Vasudha Hall of the new Parliament building.
The Vice President is elected by an electoral college comprising 788 members, 245 from the Rajya Sabha and 543 from the Lok Sabha. This includes the 12 nominated Rajya Sabha members, who are also eligible to vote. However, due to six vacant seats in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha, the effective strength of the Electoral College stands at 781 for this election. A total of 384 votes are required to secure a majority and win the Vice Presidential post.
The NDA, along with the support of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), is backing CP Radhakrishnan with the support of 429 MPs. Meanwhile, 324 MPs are backing B Sudershan Reddy, the Opposition’s joint candidate.
Despite calls for abstention from several parties, including Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the numbers still favour the NDA, though the margin of victory could be narrower than in previous elections. The BJD has seven MPs, the BRS four, and the SAD one.
In addition, two Independent MPs, Amritpal Singh and Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, have announced they will boycott the election. Excluding the YSRCP, the NDA holds 425 votes, while the INDIA bloc remains at 324. With an estimated 14 MPs abstaining, the total votes cast will likely be 767.
