Venkaiah Naidu Elected 13th Vice-President Of India

National Democratic Alliance candidate Venkaiah Naidu was on Saturday elected as the Vice-President of India as he defeated Opposition nominee Gopalkrishna Gandhi by a huge margin.

Naidu received 516 votes, while Gandhi got 244 votes out of a total 760 valid votes, according to the Election Commission of India. "I am very humbled. I am also thankful to the Prime Minister and all party leaders for their support”, Naidu told PTI.

Naidu will replace Mohammad Hamid Ansari, whose ten-year stint as the vice president will be coming to an end on August 10. Ansari is the only vice-president to have held office during the terms of three presidents, including NDA nominee Ram Nath Kovind who took over in July.

Naidu's triumph places the Bharatiya Janata Party on a clear seat of dominance in the country with authority over both houses of Parliament as the vice-president is also the ex-officio chairperson of the Rajya sabha. The BJP is in the majority in Lok Sabha.

He will face the challenge of ensuring smooth proceedings in the 281-member Upper House where the balance of numbers has been in favour of the Opposition for the past three years. This had led to the stalling of several legislations. The number game, however, is likely to tilt towards the government with BJP’s recent wins in assembly elections.

One of BJP's most experienced leaders, Naidu was also a key member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, having served as the minister of urban development and minister of information and broadcasting earlier. A lawyer by profession, he has served at various organisational positions in the BJP, including the national president of the party. Naidu was also a four-time Rajya Sabha member.

Prime Minister Modi congratulated Naidu on his victory saying he was confident that Naidu will serve the nation as a "diligent and dedicated Vice President, committed to the goal of nation building", in a media statement.

In a tweet, he cherished old memories.

Modi had himself personally vouched for Naidu earlier in July.

The results were largely on expected lines. Even the Opposition's pick Gopalkrishna Gandhi had said that Naidu is "an experienced person", adding that it was a "fight based on constitutional principles, where I maintained complete civility and the same has been done from the other side too".