VP elections: "NDA candidate will win": TDP MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu exudes confidence

New Delhi [India], September 9 (ANI): Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu on Tuesday expressed strong confidence in the victory of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate in the upcoming Vice President election, predicting that the ruling coalition will secure a large majority.
Speaking to ANI, the TDP MP further claimed that some of the opposition MPs will also vote for the NDA candidate.
He said, "The main strategy is that we, all 18 MPs, want to finish our voting within the first hour. Everyone is prepared for that...Arrive early and vote early...I am not only confident that our NDA candidate will win but I am also confident that he will get more than 80-100 majority in this election. There will definitely be cross-voting from the parties that are in between; they will be voting for us. Also, some of the Opposition MPs will be voting for us..."
The voting for the 15th Vice Presidential election began on Tuesday morning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi exercising his franchise along with other prominent ministers and MPs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to cast his vote.
NDA's CP Radhakrishnan is pitted against joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy. Both the leaders are contesting against each other in a high-stakes election as it came 50 days after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his post as the Vice President on July 21, citing health reasons.
Following the voting, the counting of votes will take place in the evening today.
Both the BJP-led NDA and opposition parties held mock polls ahead of the crucial day earlier, telling the MPs to be cautious in exercising their franchise lest their vote be invalid.
It seems that NDA's candidate CP Radhakrishnan has an edge with 427 MPs, well above the majority mark of 391, supporting him for the post. In the Lok Sabha, Radhakrishnan is expected to receive 293 votes, and 134 votes are likely to be cast in his favour in the Rajya Sabha.
Joint opposition candidate Reddy is backed by 354 MPs, with 249 in the lower house and 105 in the upper house of the Parliament.
Currently, the Parliament comprises 781 members, including 542 in the Lok Sabha with one seat vacant and 239 in the Rajya Sabha with five seats vacant.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) decided to abstain from voting in the Vice Presidential elections. Meanwhile, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) will not take part in the Vice Presidential poll.
Moreover, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) announced that it will "boycott" the Vice Presidential election, given that people in Punjab are "upset and angry" over no help from the central or state government. (ANI)