NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to host a dinner for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MPs on the eve of the September 9 vice-presidential elections.
The ruling NDA has the numbers to get its candidate, Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan, elected. But since members of the electoral college can vote according to their choice and are not bound by any party whip, the dinner meeting on September 8 could have a subtle message for allies to follow “alliance dharma”, remarked a senior BJP MP.
The meeting would also give allies an opportunity to interact with the PM while helping avoid cross-voting.
In what has been billed as a South vs South fight, the Opposition has pitted former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, who hails from Telangana, against Radhakrishnan, who is from Tamil Nadu. Both are actively campaigning to ensure all their respective votes are polled.
All members of both Houses of Parliament, including nominated members are part of the electoral college for the vice presidential elections.
Voting is by secret ballot through the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. The winner has to secure at least one more than 50% of the valid votes cast.
While the current electoral college has 782 members, the winning candidate needs at least 392 votes to sail through. The ruling NDA coalition has 426 MPs in Parliament — 293 in the Lok Sabha and 133 in the Rajya Sabha.