Vice Presidential poll: Voting done, counting gets underway

The counting of votes in India's vie Presidential poll has got underway, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and BJP leader LK Advani among MPs from both Houses of Parliament who voted on Tuesday. Vice President Hamid Ansari, the candidate of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), is expected to win a second term in office. He is confident of polling 500 votes of the 788 available.Voting began at 10 am and continued till 5 pm. Counting of votes got underway at 6pm.[caption id="attachment_409218" align="alignleft" width="380"] Ansari is expected to win by a landslide: PTI[/caption]The Prime Minister, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi came together to cast their ballot. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad were among those who voted. Official sources said 600 of the estimated 787 members from the two Houses had voted by 2 pm. Ansari, who is seeking re-election, is being backed by the Congress, most other parties of the United Progressive Alliance, those supporting the alliance from outside and some Left parties. Jaswant Singh, a former union minister, has the backing of the NDA and Jayalalithaa's AIADMK. The Vice President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of Members of Both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote. Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha are also entitled to take part in the election. IANS