Voting will take place today to elect the next Vice President of India. It will be held in Parliament House between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. There are only two candidates in the fray. UPA candidate Mohd. Hamid Ansari is pitted against the NDA nominee Jaswant Singh. Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for smooth conduct of the poll. A total of 788 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs are eligible to vote in the poll to elect the 14th Vice President of India. The incumbent Vice President Mohd. Hamid Ansari completes his tenure on Friday. Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress has announced its support to the UPA candidate in the poll. A decision to this effect was taken at a party Parliamentary Board meeting in New Delhi last night. Samajwadi Party, BSP, Left, RJD and JD(S) have already declared their support to Mr. Ansari.
While AIADMK has extended its support to NDA candidate Jaswant Singh, BJD has decided to abstain from the voting. Ahead of the polls, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi hosted a lunch yesterday for UPA constituents and the parties supporting from outside.