Vice Presidential Election 2022: Voting to be held today; numbers firmly against Alva in Saturday poll

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• Aug 6, 2022 | Dhupali Das

Members of both houses of Parliament will vote to choose India's next Vice President...

Digital Desk: The polling for India's new Vice President will be held today (August 6) from 10 am to 5 pm. In the race for the second-highest constitutional post, NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar will face off against Margaret Alva, the candidate of the opposition.

Members of both houses of Parliament will vote to choose India's next Vice President.

With the numbers stacked in the NDA's favour, former West Bengal governor Dhankhar looks set for a comfortable victory.

With the BJP's 303 members in the Lok Sabha and 91 in the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar is expected to receive more than 515 votes. Regional parties including the Janta Dal (United), YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK, Shiv Sena, AIADMK, TDP, and BSP support him.

On the other hand, Alva is likely to receive more than 200 votes. She enjoys the support of regional parties, including the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the Aam Aadmi Party, and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). The AIMIM also backed the opposition candidate.

The Trinamool Congress, which has 23 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 16 in the Rajya Sabha, has made the decision not to vote in the election.

Alva, a former Union Minister and veteran Congress leader has previously served as Governor of Goa, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan. The 80-year-old has also served as Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Youth and Sports, and Women and Child Development.

Dhankhar, 71, is a Jat leader from Rajasthan with a socialist background.

The electoral college for the vice presidential election is comprised of all members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, including those who have been nominated. The current president's tenure ends on August 10th. The vice president also serves as the Rajya Sabha's chairperson.