Cross-voting alters numbers

​New Delhi: Former Union minister Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu was elected 13th Vice President on Saturday evening after defeating Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi by more than 270 votes amidst the highest turnover in a VP election.

Naidu got 516 votes while Gandhi secured only 244 — 25 votes less than what he was slated to get in the high-profile poll, dubbed as an ideological battle by the Opposition camp. Both the Congress and BJP, however, claimed to have benefited from cross-voting.

The Electoral College comprised of 786 votes. Fifteen MPs did not cast their votes and 11 others were declared invalid, reducing the margin of victory to 386. Among the 14 MPs who didn’t vote, three were from the ruling NDA while 12 were from the Opposition.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said the votes in favour of the Opposition candidate increased by 19 in the Vice-Presidential election compared to the President's election, which according to him was a positive thing. "We have seen one thing that earlier in the presidential election, the opposition candidate got 225 votes, this time it was 244 votes.

However, Naidu’s tally of votes pointed to some amount of cross-voting in his favour. The NDA polled 522 votes among MPs in the presidential polls last month. Of this number, 40 MPs, from the Biju Janata Dal and the Janata Dal (U) decided to shift their votes from the NDA to the Opposition candidate for the vice-presidential polls. That brought down the expected support base of the NDA candidate from 522 to 482.

However, during the Presidential polls, 17 NDA MPs polled invalid votes. This time round, the number was down to 4, which led to an addition of 13 votes, taking the figure to 495.

Added to this were 10 nominated members, most of whom were expected to vote for Naidu. “Coming from an agricultural background, I never imagined I would be here. Agriculture has no proper voice in Indian polity,” the Vice President-elect said shortly after being declared victor.

“I am very humbled. I am also thankful to the Prime Minister and all party leaders for their support. I will seek to utilise the Vice Presidential institution to strengthen the hands of the president and secondly uphold the dignity of the Upper House,” he added.

Naidu will be the 13th person to hold the second highest Constitutional post, which also makes him the Chairman of the Upper House.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his congratulations to Naidu “for a fruitful & motivating tenure”. “I am confident M Venkaiah Naidu will serve the nation as a diligent & dedicated Vice President, committed to the goal of nation building.”

Congress president Sonia Gandhi also wished Naidu, offering her party’s support in further strengthening the Rajya Sabha for effective scrutiny of legislation and government policies. “House of Elders (Rajya Sabha) is an important determinant of our democratic functioning to address appropriate checks and balances,” she added.

Naidu’s victory to the country’s second-highest Constitutional office was predicted to be a cakewalk, but as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Naidu may face more intense challenge from the Opposition in the House.