A statue of Mahatma Gandhi is pictured next to India’s new parliament building a day before the inauguration of the building in New Delhi, India, September 18, 2023. REUTERS
NEW DELHI, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Indian lawmakers began voting to elect a new vice president on Tuesday, more than a month after the last incumbent resigned abruptly.
Jagdeep Dhankhar, whose term as vice president was to expire in 2027, resigned in July, citing health reasons.
Under the constitution, federal lawmakers vote in a secret ballot to elect the vice president.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling coalition has nominated as its candidate C P Radhakrishnan, a former lawmaker from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and currently governor of the western state of Maharashtra.
Opposition parties have nominated B Sudershan Reddy, a former supreme court judge, as their candidate.
Radhakrishnan is widely expected to win given the support the BJP and its allies enjoy in parliament.
The vice president holds second-highest constitutional office as well as being chair of the upper house of parliament. The vice president also acts as president if there is a temporary vacancy.
The president and vice president are largely ceremonial posts as executive powers rest with the prime minister and cabinet.
(This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of former vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar in paragraph 2)
Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Christopher
