Polling for the Vice-Presidential poll began at 10 am. PM Modi was among the first few to vote
New Delhi: Polling to elect the next Vice President of India began at 10 am, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being among the first few to vote.
The polling will continue till 5 pm, following which the counting of ballots will take place.
National Democratic Alliance or NDA nominee and former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, 71, is contesting against Opposition candidate Margaret Alva, 80.
With the ruling BJP having an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha and 91 members in the Rajya Sabha, Mr 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 vote in this election.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)