The NDA candidate, C.P. Radhakrishnan, has achieved a grand victory in India's Vice Presidential election, securing a total of 452 votes and defeating his rival from the INDIA coalition, B. Sudarshan Reddy, who garnered 300 votes. The NDA achieved a commanding majority, further amplified by reports from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claiming that 14 MPs engaged in cross-voting.
The opposition coalition posed a strong challenge in the Vice Presidential election but was outnumbered compared to the NDA. To win, the candidate needed 392 votes, a threshold easily crossed by the NDA candidate.
In Tuesday's election, 767 MPs cast their votes. Among them, 15 votes were deemed invalid. Overall, 782 MPs had the right to vote in this election.
Receiving 14 votes from opposition parties was a significant boost for the NDA as 15 votes were rendered invalid, encouraging a disadvantage for the opposition due to cross-voting.
Aside from their count of MPs, the NDA benefited from some cross-votes. The NDA's tally stood at 427, which grew to 438 with 11 MPs from YSR Congress joining in. An additional 14 votes were credited to C.P. Radhakrishnan through cross-voting.
Source: aajtak
This election followed Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation in July due to health issues. Voting occurred from 10 AM to 5 PM in the Parliament premises’ Vasundha Bhavan, with MPs from both houses voting.
Opposition's Strategy and NDA's Preparation
The opposition fielded Sudarshan Reddy to project unity and send a message through the voting process. However, the NDA capitalized on strategic cross-voting, undermining the opposition’s vote bank and securing 452 votes.
Sudarshan Reddy encouraged voting following one’s conscience, resulting in some cross-voting that favored the NDA.
Invalid Votes and Need for Improvement
With 15 votes invalid, representing nearly 2% of total votes, improvements in voter training are necessary. Experts advocate for comprehensive voting training for MPs to reduce invalid votes in future elections.
