Polling to elect next Vice President begins; PM Modi casts vote

Polling to elect the next Vice President of India began at 10 am, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being among the first ones to cast vote.

The polling will continue till 5 pm, following which the counting of ballots will take place.

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee and former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar (71) is pitted against joint Opposition candidate Margaret Alva (80).

With the ruling BJP having an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha and 91 members in the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar has a clear edge over his rival. He is likely to succeed incumbent M Venkaiah Naidu, whose tenure ends on August 10.

All MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are entitled to vote in the vice presidential election.

The two Houses of Parliament together have a sanctioned strength of 788 MPs, of which there are eight vacancies in the Upper House.

Hence, 780 MPs are eligible to cast their ballot in this election.