Polling to elect next Vice-President begins; PM Modi casts vote

NEW DELHI: Polling to elect the

next Vice-President

of India began at 10am, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being among the first ones to cast vote.
The polling will continue till 5pm, following which the counting of ballots will take place.
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee and former West Bengal governor

Jagdeep Dhankhar

(71) is pitted against joint opposition candidate

Margaret Alva

(80).
With the ruling BJP having an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha and 91 members in the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar has a clear edge over his rival. He is likely to succeed incumbent M Venkaiah Naidu, whose tenure ends on August 10.
All MPs of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members, are entitled to vote in the

Vice-Presidential election

.
The two Houses of Parliament together have a sanctioned strength of 788 MPs, of which there are eight vacancies in the Upper House.
Hence, 780 MPs are eligible to cast their ballot in this election.