BJP Candidate Venkaiah Naidu is the 13th Vice President of India

BJP Candidate Venkaiah Naidu has been elected as the 13th Vice President of India on Saturday. Naidu won 516 out of the 790 seats that comprises both the houses of the Parliament. Venkaiah Naidu was the Minister for Urban Poverty Alleviation and Information and Broadcasting before being named the Vice Presidential candidate by the BJP. 

Venkaiah Naidu has also served as the BJP national president from 2002 to 2004 and was was the Union Cabinet Minister for Rural Development in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee NDA government.

His opponent Gopal Krishna Gandhi won 244 Seats in the election that saw over 98% vote percentage.

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The Vice President is the second highest constitutional post in India. The Vice President is the 'ex-officio' Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.The Vice President is elected for a period of five years. There is no fixed retirement age to the Vice President and he or she can be re-elected as the Vice President for any number of times.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Naidu, who is a member from Rajya Sabha, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath, a Lok Sabha member, were among the first to cast their ballot. 

Rajya Sabha member and boxer Mary Kom, Union minister Prakash Javadekar and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh were also seen in the queue. The BJD and the JD(U) which had supported NDA nominee Ramnath Kovind for the post of president, had decided to back opposition nominee Gandhi.

The electoral college which elects the vice president, who is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, consisted of elected and nominated members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.