NEW DELHI: NDA candidate and former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar comfortably won the vice-presidential election on Saturday with 528 votes. He defeated the opposition-backed candidate Margaret Alva, who got fewer than 200 votes.
“NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankar won by 346 votes as he bagged 528 of the total 725 votes that were cast. While 15 were termed invalid, opposition candidate Margaret Alva received 182 votes in the election,” Lok Sabha general secretary Utpal K Singh said while declaring the results.
Of all the valid votes, Dhankhar secured 74.36 per cent. He has the highest winning margin in the last six vice-presidential elections held since 1997.
Dhankhar, 71, who will also serve as the Rajya Sabha chairman, is succeeding incumbent M Venkaiah Naidu, whose tenure ends on August 10. Dhankhar will be the 14th Vice President of the country.
President Droupadi Murmu, who was elected last month, congratulated Dhankhar and said that nation will benefit from his long and rich experience of public life.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on Dhankhar at his residence in New Delhi to congratulate him personally after the results were declared.
Several Union ministers and BJP leaders, including Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, congratulated Dhankhar on the victory.
Dhankhar’s opponent Alva took to Twitter to congratulate him and thanked all the opposition MPs who voted for her in the election.
