New Delhi:5/8/17: The National Democratic Alliance’s candidate M. Venkaiah Naidu was elected India’s 13th vice president on Saturday after he pulled over 500 votes out of 771 and defeated opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
Voting for the vice presidential election 2017 ended earlier with 98.21% of members of Parliament exercising their franchise.
Assistant returning officer Mukul Pandey said, at the closing of voting process, 771 out of 785 MPs had cast their vote. The counting will begin at 6pm and the result would be out by 7.15pm. Two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders—Sanwarlal Jat and Vijay Goel—are hospitalized and could not vote, BJP leaders said.
The strength of the Electoral College comprising both elected and nominated MPs of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha is 790. There are two vacancies each in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. One BJP Lok Sabha MP is barred from voting following a judicial pronouncement.