New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, Chairman of the BJP Parliamentary Party LK Advani, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, AICC General Secretray Rahul Gandhi besides senior Cabinet Ministers and leader of the various parties had so far cast their votes in the election for the 13th Vice-President of the country polling for which began here this morning.
It is estimated that over 500 votes had been cast till 1300 hrs.
NDA’s candidate for the post Jaswant Singh was also among the early voters. He is pitted against incumbent Vice-President Hamid Ansari who has been fielded by the UPA for a second term.
Dr Ansari appears all set to win with the allies of the UPA and also the parties supporting the ruling alliance from outside backing him.
The voting is taking place in the Parliament House. It began at 1000 hrs and will continue till 1700 hrs. The counting of votes will take place at 1800 hrs and results were expected around 1900 hrs. The voters consist of all the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha MPs.
The Lok Sabha has 543 members and the Rajya Sabha, 245.
Three parties–the BJD, the TDP and RSP have abstained from voting.
A career diplomat and scholar, 75-year-old Dr Ansari is locked in a direct contest with veteran BJP leader Mr Singh, a former Finance, Defence and Foreign Minister of the country.
Dr Ansari is seeking a second consecutive term to the post of Vice-President, and if elected, he would be the second person after philosopher and statesman Dr S Radhakrishnan to hold the high office twice.
The Congress is confident of managing the numbers for Dr Ansari to win. The party has 204 members in Lok Sabha and 71 in Rajya Sabha. Among the allies, All India Trinamool Congress has 19 MPs in Lok Sabha and 9 in Rajya Sabha, DMK has 18 members in Lok Sabha and 7 in Rajya Sabha, NCP 9 in Lok Sabha and 7 in Rajya Sabha and RLD has 5 in Lok Sabha. National Conference has 3 members in Lok Sabha and 2 in Rajya Sabha.
Besides, SP with its 22 members in Lok Sabha and 9 in Rajya Sabha and BSP with its 21 in Lok Sabha and 15 in Rajya Sabha, and also the Left with a total of 38 MPs have also declared their support for Dr Ansari. (UNI)
