Jagdeep Dhankhar elected 16th vice president of India

Former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday was elected as the 16th vice president of India.

The Election Commission announced that Dhankhar — the NDA nominee, emerged victorious in the vice presidential election in which he was pitted against the opposition's candidate Margaret Alva.

As the term of incumbent Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu ends on Aug.10, the members of both houses of the parliament on Saturday voted to elect the next vice president.

Utpal Kumar Singh, returning officer for the vice presidential election, said that of total 780 electors, only 725 voted for the vice presidential poll. Of total 725 votes, 15 votes were found invalid and 710 votes valid.

As per the Election Commission, Dhankhar secured a total of 528 first preference votes, while Alva got only 182 votes.

Later during the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Jagdeep Dhankhar to congratulate him soon after he was announced the winner in the vice presidential election.

"Congratulations to Jagdeep Dhankhar on being elected Vice-President with resounding support across party lines. I am confident he will be an outstanding Vice-President. Our nation will gain tremendously from his intellect and wisdom," the prime minister said in a tweet.

"I thank all those MPs who have voted for Jagdeep Dhankhar. At a time when India marks Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, we are proud to be having a Kisan Putra Vice President who has excellent legal knowledge and intellectual prowess," he tweeted.

President Droupadi Murmu also congratulated Dhankhar on his win.

"Congratulations to Jagdeep Dhankhar on being elected the Vice President of India. The nation will benefit from your long and rich experience of public life. My best wishes for a productive and successful tenure," she wrote on Twitter.

"Congratulations to Jagdeep Dhankhar on winning the Vice Presidential elections. His long public life, wide experience and deep understanding of people's issues will certainly benefit the nation. I am confident that he will make an exceptional VP & Rajya Sabha Chairman," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh wrote on Twitter.

Home Minister Amit Shah also met and congratulated Dhankhar.

He tweeted: "I am sure that @jDhankhar1 ji as Vice President and Chairman of Rajya Sabha will prove to be an ideal guardian of the Constitution. I congratulate him on this victory. Also, under the leadership of PM Modi, I express my gratitude to NDA allies, other parties and members of Parliament for supporting Dhankhar."

Indo-Asian News Service