NEW DELHI: NDA vice-presidential candidate M Venkaiah Naidu romped home to a strong victory, trouncing opposition nominee Gopalkrishna Gandhi by 516 Votes to 244, which places BJP nominees on the top constitutional posts of President and vice-president for the first time.

With Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha members comprising the electoral college, Naidu was aided by an estimated 20 opposition MPs cross-voting in his favour and his margin of victory of 272 votes is the largest in the last 30 years. Though Naidu’s win was not surprising, the result exceeded expectations as the NDA was counting on 502 votes. Four members could not vote for various reasons but the former urban development and information and broadcasting minister still managed a tally of 516 votes.

In all, 771 out of 785 MPs cast votes. Votes of 11 MPs were, however, declared invalid. Fourteen MPs of different parties did not vote, including four TMC MPs, two of BJP, two each of Congress and IUML and some others, including one NCP and one PMK MP.

Naidu will take oath of office on August 11. The term of incumbent Hamid Ansari, who held the position for two consecutive terms during 2007-2017, will end on August 10. With Ansari, who was a UPA nominee, demitting office, Congress has lost a significant perch in the Rajya Sabha. Naidu’s election marks the current ascendancy of BJP and its allies.

The votes polled and the margin are particularly satisfying for BJP managers as unlike in the presidential poll, the party did not have the support of BJD and JD(U), but Naidu still ended up with surplus votes. Naidu’s win was immediately hailed by PM Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah and other senior BJP members.

Congratulating Naidu, Modi tweeted, saying he is confident that he will serve the nation as a diligent and dedicated vice-president, committed to the goal of nation-building. Opposition leaders also congratulated Naidu.

In an electoral college of 790 (545 from the Lok Sabha and 245 from the Rajya Sabha), 785 members were eligible to cast their votes. While two seats each are vacant in both the Houses, one Lok Sabha BJP member, Chedi Paswan, is not eligible to vote due to a pending case of disqualification against him. Two BJP MPs — Vijay Goel and Sanwar Lal Jat — could not vote because they are in hospital. Jat fell unconscious during a meeting chaired by Shah in Jaipur on July 22, and has been in ICU since then. Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and actor Rekha, who have often been criticised for their low attendance in the RS, also cast their votes in the vice-presidential poll.