India: Voting for Vice President elections begin today

Voting for the Vice President of India will be held today, as the tenure of the incumbent 2017-nominated VP, M Venkaiah Naidu, comes to an end on August 10.

National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) vice-presidential candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar and Opposition nominee Margaret Alva are the two contenders for election to the Office of the Vice President.

On July 18, Dhankhar filed his nomination papers before the Returning Officer and Secretary General, of the Lok Sabha.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, and BJP chief JP Nadda, were present when Dhankar filed his nomination.

The position of Vice President-- the second-highest constitutional post in the country-- is elected via an electoral college consisting of members of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.

Dhankhar, who is a lawyer by profession, joined politics in 1989. He became the governor of West Bengal in July 2019, and has since made headlines over his tumultuous relations with the Mamata Banerjee government. He tendered his resignation as the Governor of West Bengal.

On Wednesday, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) announced its support for the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar in the upcoming vice presidential elections.

Earlier, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati had announced her party's support for Dhankhar as well.

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