Leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc held a meeting in the Parliament complex on Monday in a show of unity on the eve of the vice presidential election, and urged MPs to listen to their inner conscience and vote independently in this and quot;ideological battle and quot;.
The MPs were told not to let their vote go to waste in the September 9 vice presidential poll and were informed about the procedure of casting votes, while exuding confidence about their victory and leaving nothing to chance.
Sources said the opposition MPs were urged to listen to their “inner conscience” before casting their votes and not cast an invalid vote. The last vice-presidential polls saw some votes declared invalid.
The parliamentarians also took part in a mock poll for Tuesday’s election.
Opposition MPs were told to only mark preference ‘1’ in their ballot and not mark anyone as their second preference on the ballot paper. The second preference votes are counted only in case there is a tie between the two candidates.
Top leaders of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, DMK, TMC, RJD, JMM, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), CPI and CPI-M met in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan (old parliament building) and were briefed about the election process of Tuesday, in which members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are eligible to vote.
Ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy are pitted against each other in a direct contest for the vice-presidential election.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a clear edge in the poll necessitated by the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21. The vice-presidential poll has been described by the opposition as an ideological battle, even as the numbers are stacked in favour of the NDA.
Members of Parliament are not bound by party whips to vote in the vice presidential election, which takes place under a secret ballot system.
The MPs will be handed out ballot papers containing the names of the two contesting candidates and will have to mark their preference by writing the figure ‘1’ opposite the name of the candidate of their choice.
While Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav welcomed all those present, Congress leader and chief whip of the Congress in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh informed the MPs about the voting procedure.
The opposition has nominated Congress leaders Naseer Hussain and Manickam Tagore, besides TMC leader Shatabdi Roy, as the polling agents for their joint candidate Reddy. Shaktisinh Gohil and Manickam Tagore have been nominated as his counting agents.
Among the leaders who attended the meeting in Samvidhan Sadan were Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party leader Sonia Gandhi, NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar, DMK leader T R Baalu and Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav.
Odisha’s principal opposition party, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), announced that its MPs will abstain from voting in the vice presidential elections. The BRS has also decided to abstain from the VP election.
The Naveen Patnaik-headed BJD said it took the decision as part of its policy of “maintaining an equal distance” from both the BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led INDIA bloc at the national level.
Taking a swipe at the BJP, the Congress’ Jairam Ramesh said, “Two parties who have stood with the BJP staunchly over the past decade in Parliament have decided to abstain in the vice-presidential election tomorrow. The shape of things to come?”.
The Shiromani Akali Dal, once an ally of the BJP, which now has only one MP, has decided to boycott the election in view of the floods in Punjab.
On Sunday, AIMIM decided to support the opposition candidate in the election.
The electoral college for the vice presidential election comprises a total of 788 members — 245 from the Rajya Sabha and 543 from the Lok Sabha. The 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha are also eligible to vote in the election.
The present strength of the electoral college is 781, as six seats are vacant in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha. This puts the majority mark at 391. The NDA has 425 MPs, while the opposition camp has the backing of around 325 parliamentarians.
In a fervent appeal to MPs ahead of the vice presidential polls, opposition nominee Sudershan Reddy exhorted them not to let party loyalty guide their choice, and this is a vote for the spirit of India itself. He said he is seeking support not for himself but for the “values that define us as a sovereign democratic republic”.
“In this election, there is no party whip, and the ballot is secret. It is not loyalty to any political party, but love for the country that must guide your choice. Each one of you carry the moral responsibility to preserve the conscience, the soul of our beloved nation,” Reddy said in his over 12-minute video message for MPs.
“By entrusting me with this office, you will be choosing to defend parliamentary traditions, to restore dignity to debate, and to ensure that the Rajya Sabha stands as a true temple of democracy,” Reddy said.
Meanwhile, the NDA also held a meeting of their MPs to brief them on the election process. The members also participated in a mock poll. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the MPs at the meeting in Parliament’s library building.
Voting will begin in the new Parliament House building at 10 am and will continue till 5 pm on Tuesday. Counting of votes will begin at 6 pm, and results will be announced thereafter.