VP Polls 2022: Opposition candidate Alva arrives in Parliament

NEW DELHI: The Opposition's nominee for the post of Vice President of India, Margaret Alva arrived at Parliament House to cast her vote for the second highest constitutional post in the country.

Voting for the Vice Presidential election in which the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Jagdeep Dhankar is pitted against the Opposition nominee Margaret Alva began at 10 am and will continue till 5 pm.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote. Union ministers Amit Shah, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Nitin Gadkari, Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajnath Singh, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Ram Meghwal, V Muraleedharan, Purshottam Rupala and Piyush Goyal also cast their vote at Parliament HouseBJP chief JP Nadda Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh have also cast their vote.

Former Prime Minister and Congress MP Manmohan Singh was seen arriving in a wheechair at the Parliament to cast his vote. Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarajun Kharge also cast their vote.

Votes will be counted today itself and the next Vice-President of the country will take the oath of office on August 11, a day after the term of the incumbent Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu ends.

In 2017, the NDA had nominated Venkaiah Naidu as its candidate for the vice-presidential election and his term ends on August 10, 2022. Alva filed her nomination for the vice presidential election on July 19.

Opposition parties on July 17 decided to field the former Rajasthan Governor as their joint candidate for the vice presidential election.While, Dhankar filed his nomination papers on July 18 before Returning Officer and Secretary General, Lok Sabha in the Parliament House.