Jagdeep Dhankhar was elected as the 14th Vice President of India

Jagdeep Dhankhar was elected as the 14th Vice President of India

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar was elected as the 14th Vice President of India on Saturday. He got 528 votes. Margaret Alva lost the opposition election with 182 votes.

With the ruling BJP having an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha and 91 members in the Rajya Sabha, the numbers were stacked in Dhankhar's favor. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is headed by the BJP.

An official said 725 MPs voted in the poll, which is 92.94 percent of the total votes, and 15 votes were declared invalid.

Members of Parliament, including nominated members, have the right to vote in the Vice-Presidential election.

The Electoral College has 788 members and with 8 vacant seats in the Rajya Sabha, the actual strength is 780.

 The Trinamool Congress, while naming Alva as the opposition choice, abstained from the vote, saying it was not consulted. However, two of its MPs -Sisir Kumar Adhikari and Dibyendu Adhikari - broke ranks and registered their votes. The party has 36 MPs including 23 in the Lok Sabha.

As the tenure of the current Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu has come to an end, the next Vice President of the country will be sworn in on August 11.

Janata Dal (United), YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK announced their support for Dhankhar. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) extended their support to Alva.

Voting to elect the next Vice President of India began at 10 am. The counting of votes started at 6 pm.

The Vice President of India, the country's second-highest constitutional post, is elected by an electoral college consisting of members of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.

The Vice President of India is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

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