PM Modi casts 1st vote in Vice-President poll; Radhakrishnan prays at temple

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday cast the first vote in the 17^th Vice-President elections, which commenced in the new Parliament House at 10 am.

Soon after casting his vote, Modi proceeded for the Delhi airport for his onward journey to Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, where he will conduct an aerial survey of flood- and landslide-affected areas. The Prime Minister will also meet affected families and interact with relief and rescue personnel.

Senior ministers of the government were among the first to vote in the election, where the ruling NDA’s candidate, CP Radhakrishnan, is in a direct contest with B Sudarshan Reddy, candidate of the joint Opposition.

Radhakrishnan is the governor of Maharashtra, while Reddy is a former judge of the Supreme Court.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) have said they will abstain from voting. However, Andhra Pradesh-based YSRCP has extended support to Radhakrishnan, while AIMIM has backed Reddy.

Hours before the voting begins for the Vice-President election, NDA's candidate and Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan arrived at Shree Ram Mandir in Delhi's Lodhi Road area to offer prayers this morning.

The NDA has appointed three pole agents for Radhakrishnan: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, TDP leader and Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu and Shiv Sena MP Srikant Shinde.

MPs of the BJP and the NDA arrived at the Parliament House in groups into which the party had divided them to maintain unity of ranks and prevent cross-voting.

Uttar Pradesh MPs had gathered at the residence of Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal this morning, and South India MPs met at the residence of Food Minister Prahlad Joshi.

Likewise, Maharashtra MPs assembled for breakfast at the house of Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Odisha MPs at the residence of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

From theses designated meeting points, the MPs moved together to the Parliament house to vote.

Top leaders of the India bloc also cast their votes, with voting likely to happen along party lines with NDA MPs voting for Radhakrishnan and India block MPs backing Reddy.

Voting will end at 5 pm, and counting will commence at 6 pm. Results will be declared later in the evening.