India is voting for a new Vice President today. The election follows the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar. Two candidates are in the fray. CP Radhakrishnan represents the NDA. B Sudarshan Reddy is the INDIA bloc nominee. Voting began at 10 AM in Parliament. Results will be declared this evening.
A high-stakes contest between two alliances
The race is straightforward yet intense. The NDA backs CP Radhakrishnan. The INDIA alliance backs B Sudarshan Reddy. Both sides claim confidence. The numbers, however, favor the NDA. Party managers are focused on discipline today. The opposition is hoping for cross-voting.
Polling opened with the Prime Minister’s vote
Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast the first vote. Senior ministers accompanied him inside. Voting is underway in room F-101. Polling continues until 5 PM today. Counting will begin at 6 PM. The result will follow soon after.
A seat that carries constitutional weight
The Vice President is the Rajya Sabha Chair. The office influences legislative flow and order. The role demands neutrality and restraint. The winner will become India’s fifteenth Vice President. The term will extend for five years. The office also symbolizes institutional stability.
Why a mid-term election is happening
Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned during the monsoon session. He cited health reasons for stepping down. Two years reportedly remained in his term. His decision triggered today’s election. Parliament now must choose a successor. Both Houses vote in this election.
The electoral college and majority math
The electoral college includes MPs from both Houses. Lok Sabha currently has 543 seats. One Lok Sabha seat is vacant. Rajya Sabha has 245 seats on paper. Six Rajya Sabha seats are vacant. Thus 542 Lok Sabha MPs may vote. And 239 Rajya Sabha MPs may vote. The total electorate is therefore 781. The statutory majority mark is 391. Abstentions can lower the effective threshold. With some parties abstaining, 386 may suffice.
Parties that are abstaining today
BRS has announced a boycott. BJD has also chosen to abstain. These moves shape the majority math. Their decision reduces participating voters. The INDIA bloc has criticized the abstentions. The NDA calls its numbers comfortable. Both sides still watch for surprises.
Notable votes through the morning
Mallikarjun Kharge has cast his vote. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi voted too. Rajnath Singh completed his vote after the PM. Nitin Gadkari and G Kishan Reddy voted. Ravneet Singh Bittu also voted early. Piyush Goyal participated in the process. Shashi Tharoor cast his vote as well. He had noted the NDA’s numerical edge. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman voted too. Jyotiraditya Scindia has also voted. Bansuri Swaraj and Manoj Tiwari voted. Jitan Ram Manjhi joined the queue early. Ashwini Vaishnaw participated as well. Many MPs continued arriving through noon.
Support lines that shape the outcome
The NDA holds a clear Lok Sabha edge. It counts 293 members there. BJP holds 240 of those seats. TDP and JDU add 16 and 12 seats. Shiv Sena adds seven seats. LJP adds five more seats. In Rajya Sabha, NDA counts 125 members. BJP holds 102 of those seats. YSRCP support increases the NDA tally. Seven YSRCP Rajya Sabha votes boost the bloc. Projections suggest up to 434 votes. The INDIA bloc may touch around 320. These are alliance projections shared today.
AIMIM aligns with the opposition nominee
AIMIM has backed the INDIA nominee. Asaduddin Owaisi confirmed the decision. The opposition welcomed the move. It hopes other smaller groups may follow. The NDA is playing down that support. It says arithmetic remains solid.
The profile of CP Radhakrishnan
CP Radhakrishnan hails from Tamil Nadu. He belongs to the Gounder community. He has a background with the RSS. He served as Governor of Jharkhand in 2023. He shifted to Maharashtra in July 2024. He avoided public political controversy as Governor. Supporters cite this restraint as a strength.
The profile of B Sudarshan Reddy
B Sudarshan Reddy is a retired judge. He served on the Supreme Court. He hails from Telangana in the south. The INDIA bloc projects him as neutral. They highlight his judicial credentials. Supporters claim he will protect institutions. They frame the contest as a moral battle.
The NDA’s “man-to-man marking” tactic
The NDA designed a strict floor plan. MPs were grouped under senior ministers. Groups met at assigned residences at breakfast. They then moved to Parliament together. Piyush Goyal hosted the Uttar Pradesh group. Manohar Lal hosted northern state MPs. Bhupendra Yadav managed Maharashtra MPs. Shivraj Singh Chouhan handled MP and Chhattisgarh MPs. Nityanand Rai hosted Bihar and Jharkhand MPs. Prahlad Joshi coordinated southern MPs. Arjun Ram Meghwal handled Rajasthan MPs. Mansukh Mandaviya hosted another group. Dharmendra Pradhan hosted Bengal and Odisha MPs. Kiren Rijiju hosted northeastern MPs. The goal is to reduce cross-voting risk.
The opposition’s mock poll and instructions
INDIA bloc MPs met yesterday. They held a mock voting exercise. Leaders emphasized ballot discipline. Some votes were invalid in the past. MPs were trained to mark preferences correctly. The aim is to protect every single vote. Whips do not apply in this election. Anti-defection rules also do not apply. Secrecy increases uncertainty at the margins.
Preference voting and ballot rules
Every MP has one vote of equal value. Preference marking is permitted on ballots. Only the first preference is counted initially. A ballot remains valid without second preference. Correct marking procedures are essential. The secret ballot protects conscience voting. Errors can still void an individual ballot. Parties therefore invest in training.
The INDIA case for cross-voting
Opposition leaders seek conscience votes. They appeal to institutional duty today. Rajeev Rai urged MPs to “save the Constitution.” He asked even NDA MPs to reconsider. Such appeals target fence-sitters quietly. The opposition hopes for private dissent. The NDA dismisses these appeals as theatrics.
The Akali Dal boycott message
Shiromani Akali Dal has stayed away. It cited the flood crisis in Punjab. It criticized both state and center responses. It said public anger shaped the choice. The boycott adds a regional angle today. The NDA says its majority remains intact.
The morning temple visit
CP Radhakrishnan visited a Delhi temple. He offered prayers before voting began. The visit mirrors campaign customs. Supporters shared images from the visit. It set a calm tone for his camp. The INDIA camp focused on mobilization.
The debate over meetings and optics
BJP leaders attacked the opposition nominee. They cited meetings with Lalu Prasad Yadav. Ravi Shankar Prasad called it hypocrisy. He questioned the “save the soul” slogan. The opposition called the attack a deflection. It said the vote is about institutions. Both camps traded barbs before noon.
Majority arithmetic through the day
The raw majority on paper is 391. Abstentions move the operative mark. With BRS and BJD absent, it drops. The effective figure can be 386 today. NDA managers still target a bigger margin. They seek a gap above 112 votes. Some claim a 125-vote cushion is possible. INDIA managers hope to narrow the gap.
The candidates’ polling agents
CP Radhakrishnan named two agents. Ram Mohan Naidu represents TDP for him. Sanjay Kumar Jha represents JDU. They supervise the process for the NDA. The opposition has its own monitors. Both sides watch for ballot errors. Legal teams remain on standby.
Why this vote is a power show too
This is a constitutional election. It is also a political test. Both blocs want to project unity. A large margin aids the NDA narrative. A closer gap helps the opposition story. Each side is crafting post-result lines. The evening message will be sharp.
The southern subtext in this contest
Both nominees are from southern India. CP Radhakrishnan is from Tamil Nadu. B Sudarshan Reddy is from Telangana. The choice reflects shifting national focus. Southern states matter in Parliament arithmetic. Parties court those regions aggressively now.
What happens after counting
Ballots will be opened at 6 PM. First preferences will be tallied first. The count should finish quickly. The margin will shape headlines tonight. The winner will take oath soon. They will assume the Rajya Sabha chair. Parliamentary work will resume under new leadership.
A note on the tone of this campaign
The campaign stayed mostly restrained. Sharp words still appeared at times. Alliances kept outreach focused on MPs. Public rallies were not the priority. Back-channel talks mattered more this week. Floor managers worked phones and corridors.
Institutional expectations from the winner
The Vice President must uphold decorum. The chair must allow robust debate. The chair must enforce rules fairly. The officeholder must avoid partisan remarks. Continuity reassures markets and partners. Parliament benefits from steady leadership.
The path each side will claim tonight
If the NDA wins big, it will hail mandate. It will claim national backing for policies. It will say reforms must accelerate. If the gap narrows, INDIA will cheer grit. It will cite conscience voting and unity. It will claim a moral victory narrative.
What to watch as results come in
Watch the final vote total first. Compare it with projected 434. Note the opposition’s final tally too. Any deviation will spark analysis. Watch for statements by alliance chiefs. Watch for conciliatory notes from the winner. The tone will set the next session’s mood.
The bottom line before the verdict
India votes for a new Vice President today. CP Radhakrishnan holds the numerical edge. B Sudarshan Reddy carries an institutional pitch. The NDA has drilled tight discipline. INDIA banks on cross-voting and symbolism. Counting begins at 6 PM. The next Rajya Sabha chair will be known soon.
