Vice-President election Live: Venkaiah Naidu wins

Gets 516 votes against Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi's 244

August 05, 2017 09:05 am | Updated 08:06 pm IST

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu at Parliament House during Budget Session, in New Delhi.

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu at Parliament House during Budget Session, in New Delhi.

M. Venkaiah Naidu, the candidate of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was on Saturday elected as the 15th Vice-President of India. He secured a total of 516 votes as against Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi's 244.

Latest Updates

7: 25 p.m: "I'm very humbled, thankful to the Prime Minister and all party leaders for their support," Mr. Naidu tells PTI.

" I will seek to utilise the vice-presidential institution to strengthen the hands of the President and to uphold dignity of the Upper House."

"With all humility, I express my gratitude to every MP who supported my candidature cutting across party lines. I promise to uphold the Constitution and the high standards set by my esteemed predecessors," he says.

7: 15 p.m: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates Mr. Naidu. "Congratulations to Venkaiah Naidu Garu on being elected India’s Vice President. My best wishes for a fruitful & motivating tenure," he tweets.

 

7: 10 p.m: Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi addresses the media:

"Congratulations to Mr. Naidu. I wish him all the best  in his new office of Vice-President. I like to thank all honourable MPs of the Parliament. I believe that the number that was voted was beyond the expect of all calculations. They all came together to vote for what they thought was for the national good - the right to hold a different opinion and the duty to serve the cause of pluralism and secularism in India.

To MPs across party divide, across the divide of this vote -  You carry a great responsibility and great weight. May you discharge them with diligence and courage. It is the word of your conscience and the Constitution guiding you.

In this vote, there have been two victories - the victory of the ballot and the victory of free speech."

7: 00 p.m. M. Venkaiah Naidu wins the vice-presidential elections.

6.00 p.m: Counting is set to begin. One NDA MP cut short his trip to New York so he could make it for voting. Another, an ailing MP, flew to Delhi with medical assistance. Who made it and who couldn't? Read on.

5.15 p.m: 98.21 per cent polling in vice-presidential elections. Counting to start at 6 p.m, says Assistant Returning Officer Mukul Pandey.

3.25 p.m: 96.94 per cent polling till 3 pm, says Assistant Returning Officer Mukul Pandey.

1.45 p.m.: 90.83 per cent voting till 1 pm in vice-presidential election (713 of 785 electors), said Assistant Returning Officer Mukul Pandey.

1.40 p.m.: 713 votes polled till now for the Vice-President poll contested by NDA candidate M. Venkaiah Naidu and opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

1.20 p.m.: Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar cast his vote during the Vice-President election in New Delhi

12.50 p.m.: Nearly 700 votes cast in the Vice-President election already. Around 786 MPs are eligible for voting.

Batting maestro with MP Rajeev Shukla come out after casting their votes during Vice-President poll in New Delhi on Saturday.

Rajya Sabha MPs Sachin Tendulkar and Rajeev Shukla come out after casting their votes.

 

12.23 p.m.: Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, his deputy in the Upper House, Anand Sharma, Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, also cast their votes.

12.01 p.m.: Rajya Sabha MP Rekha arrives to cast her vote for the Vice-President poll. Interestingly she has the lotus motif on her saree.

BJP MP Rekha with SP MP Dimple Yadav after casting their votes during the Vice-President election in New Delhi on Saturday.

Rajya Sabha MP Rekha seen with SP MP Dimple Yadav during the Vice-President election in New Delhi on Saturday.

 

11.59 a.m.: Lok Sabha MP Chhedi Paswan debarred from voting because of an interim order from Supreme Court  on a disqualification petition.

11.45 a.m.: Congress party MPs Jyotiraditya Scindia, Deepender Singh Hooda, Sushmita Dev also cast their votes to elect the next chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

11.35 a.m.: Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi have also voted. The opposition-backed Vice-President candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi who is not a member of either the Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha cannot vote.

Opposition-backed Vice-President candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi greets Congress president Sonia Gandhi during the polling, in New Delhi on Saturday.

Opposition-backed Vice-President candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi greets Congress president Sonia Gandhi during the polling, in New Delhi on Saturday.

 

11.15 a.m.:  With the Vice-President election ending today, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Keshav Prasad Maurya and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to resign from their respective parliament seats.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi casting her vote for the Vice President election at Parliament house in New Delhi on Saturday.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi casting her vote for the Vice President election at Parliament house in New Delhi on Saturday.

 

11.14 a.m.: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted "My best wishes to Shri @MVenkaiahNaidu Ji for the #VicePresidentialElection."

11.00 a.m.: Rajya Sabha member and boxer Mary Kom, Union minister Prakash Javadekar and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh were seen standing in the queue to cast their votes.

10.23 a.m.: BJP leaders Anurag Thakur and Subramanian Swamy cast their votes for electing the next Vice-President at the Parliament House in New Delhi on Saturday.

10.17 a.m.: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath arrive to cast their vote during the Vice-President election.

10.08 a.m.: The NDA vice-presidential candidate M. Venkaiah Naidu arrived at Parliament House to cast his vote.

NDA Vice-President candidate M. Venkaiah Naidu comes out after casting his vote, in New Delhi on Saturday.

NDA Vice-President candidate M. Venkaiah Naidu comes out after casting his vote, in New Delhi on Saturday.

 

10.05 a.m.: Prime Minister Narendra Modi cast his vote at Parliament House to elect the next Vice-President.

10.01 a.m.: MPs arrive to cast their votes in Parliament. The contestants are NDA's M. Venkaiah Naidu and Opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

 

10.00 a.m. : Voting gets underway in Parliament House to elect the next Vice-President.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday termed enhancing the dignity of Parliament the need of the hour, and exhorted NDA MPs to contribute to the effective functioning of the legislature.

He was speaking at a meeting of NDA MPs at the G.M.C. Balayogi auditorium on the eve of the vice-presidential polls, in which M. Venkaiah Naidu will be the NDA’s candidate. He also released two volumes of speeches and writings of Mr. Naidu entitled Tireless Voice-Relentless Journey .

Prime Minister Narendra Modi releasing the book on Venkaiah Naidu in the presence of Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley at Parlliament house in New Delhi on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi releasing the book on Venkaiah Naidu in the presence of Amit Shah and Arun Jaitley at Parlliament house in New Delhi on Friday.

 

 

Vice-presidential nominee of the Opposition Gopalkrishna Gandhi, describing himself as an apolitical candidate, has called upon MPs across party lines to vote for him without fear or favour with no whip over their decision. “Independent vote for an independent candidate,” he told The Hindu in an interview and revealed that in Tamil Nadu he had written to both Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam to support his candidature.

 

The vice-presidential election may look like it is in the bag for the ruling NDA, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi is taking no chances.  On Friday evening, he met MPs of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the parties that have pledged support to its candidate M. Venkaiah Naidu at the G.M.C. Balayogi Auditorium in the Parliament House complex.

 

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