There are 239 Rajya Sabha MPs and 542 Lok Sabha MPs, who are eligible to vote. However, according to the news reports, ex-Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi will both abstain. Therefore, the total number of MPs voting comes down to 770 and the majority mark stands at 386. Calculating all these numbers, NDA has 427 MPs. Now, how will the voting take place in the Parliament?
Polling Time And Venue
The Vice Presidential election will be held on September 9, Tuesday, inside the Parliament House complex. Voting will be held between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM, followed by counting at 6:00 PM. Members of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will cast their votes throughout the day in the respective schedule. The results will be tallied and announced under Returning Officer’s supervision.
Radhakrishnan Vs. Reddy
It will be a direct contest between National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate, CP Radhakrishnan, who is a senior BJP leader and current Governor of Maharashtra and Justice (Retd.) B. Sudershan Reddy, who is being backed by the opposition INDIA bloc. The outcome of the election will be decided by votes from both Houses of Parliament. The voting process will use proportional representation and follow the single transferable vote system.
Voting Process And Parliament Majority
The Vice President is elected according to Article 66 of the Indian Constitution, with only MPs from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha voting. Each MP casts a secret ballot and ranks candidates by preference to ensure fair representation. The NDA and its allies have 423 MPs (293 from the Lok Sabha and 130 from the Rajya Sabha), giving C.P. Radhakrishnan a strong advantage. The opposition INDIA bloc supports B. Sudershan Reddy, but its diverse composition makes it harder to gather sufficient votes. The election uses the single transferable vote system, where each MP ranks the candidates, and votes are redistributed until a candidate achieves the required majority. This year, around 782 MPs (543 Lok Sabha, 233 elected and 12 nominated Rajya Sabha members) will participate, making every vote crucial. The entire process is closely monitored under Rule 8 of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections Rules, 1974, ensuring transparency and fairness.
