On Saturday, Jagdeep Dhankhar, the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) nominee and former governor of West Bengal, easily defeated joint opposition contender Margaret Alva to become India's 16th vice president.

92.4 percent of the members of Parliament cast votes in the vice presidential election, and the counting of the results got under way at 6 o'clock.

The Lok Sabha secretary general, who is also the election's returning officer, oversaw the beginning of the counting. Up to 725 MPs participated in the election, which had voting hours of 10 am to 5 pm.

Dhankhar, a lawyer by profession, entered politics in 1989. In July 2019, he was appointed governor of West Bengal, and ever since, his contentious interactions with the Mamata Banerjee administration have attracted media attention. He submitted his letter of resignation as West Bengal's governor.

The Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha members of India's electoral college vote to elect the vice president, the nation's second-highest constitutional position.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had declared their support for NDA Dhankhar on Wednesday.

Mayawati, the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), had already declared her party's support for Dhankhar.

On July 17, opposition parties planned to together support Alva, a former governor of Rajasthan, for vice president.
At a gathering of 17 opposition party leaders at the home of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, the decision was made to field Alva.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) declared their support for Alva on Friday.

Venkaiah Naidu was put by the NDA in 2017 as its vice presidential candidate. His term ends on August 10, 2022.