As the counting of votes to elect the 15th Vice-President of India ended, it emerged that M. Venkaiah Naidu, with 516 votes, had polled the highest number of votes for a vice-presidential candidate in 33 years.
In an election where 14 MPs eligible to vote failed to exercise their franchise, affecting the Opposition UPA the most, Mr. Naidu’s tally of votes also pointed to some amount of cross-voting in his favour.
The NDA polled 522 votes among MPs in the presidential polls last month. Of this number, 40 MPs, from the Biju Janata Dal and the Janata Dal (U) decided to shift their votes from the NDA to the Opposition candidate for the vice-presidential polls. That brought down the expected support base of the NDA candidate from 522 to 482.
However, during the presidential polls, 17 NDA MPs polled invalid votes. This time round, the number was down to 4, which led to an addition of 13 votes, taking the figure to 495. Added to this were 10 nominated members, most of whom were expected to vote for Mr Naidu. “Even so, we have got at least 17 unexpected votes from those who promised these to the Opposition,” a senior BJP leader said.
Party general secretary Bhupendra Yadav, in charge of the polls for the party and Mr. Naidu’s election agent, said that “it was because of meticulous planning and the determination of Prime Minister Modi that we were able to get all our MPs (except two who are ill in hospital) to vote.”
According to sources, two BJP MPs - Union Minister for Sports Vijay Goel and Rajasthan MP Sanwarlal Jat - could not make it to the polls because they were ill.
Indian Union Muslim League’s P. K. Kunhalikutty and Abdul Wahab turned up to vote at room number 63 of Parliament, but they could come only after the proceedings had been wrapped up. The two MPs said that their flight from Kerala had been inordinately delayed because of which they could not cast their vote.
Of the others who were missing, Trinamool Congress (TMC) had the largest block of absentees - MPs Kunal Ghosh, Pratima Mandal, Abhishek Banerjee and Tapas Pal did not vote. While Mr. Ghosh has been suspended from the party and the TMC had no comment to offer on his absence, Mr. Banerjee is in Hyderabad for an eye surgery and Ms. Mandal too pleaded a family emergency. Mr. Pal has been in jail and had been unable to arrange for any reprieve that would allow him to vote.
Two Congress MPs, Mausam Noor and Rani Nara, also did not vote, and there were no reasons offered on behalf of the Congress for their absence. “We will go into the reasons why the members could not make it,” leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said.
Anbumani Ramadoss of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Udayan Raje Bhonsale of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Naba Kumar Sarania (independent MP from Kokrajhar in Assam), and Anu Agha (nominated member) were also absent.
