Vice-Presidential election: Venkaiah Naidu, Gopalkrishna Gandhi contest today

Former union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu is set to take on former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi for the post of vice-president of India today.

The winner of the polls will be appointed as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

The term of incumbent Vice-President Hamid Ansari, who held the position for two consecutive terms, will come to an end on August 10.

According to the Election Commission officials, the voting will begin on Friday at 10 a.m. and will carry on till 5 p.m. The counting of votes will start at 7 p.m. and the result will be declared Saturday evening.

The Vice- President is selected through a secret ballot by the members of the Electoral College consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. The nominated Members of Rajya Sabha as well as of Lok Sabha are also eligible to be included in the Electoral College and, therefore, are entitled to participate in the election.

Members of Parliament will use special pens for marking their choice. Votes marked with any other pen are liable to be rejected. The ballot paper shall contain the names of the contesting candidates, but does not contain any election symbol.

Unlike the President, the Vice-President is not allotted any special residential privileges while in office. While the President of India stays at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Vice-President is not subjected to any such benefits during his or her tenure.