After BJD, BRS decides to abstain from voting in Vice Presidential election

The BRS has four members in the Parliament.

Rao, commonly known as KTR, said the decision was made to support the farmers, who have expressed 'anguish' over the shortage of urea in the state. He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress have failed to address the issue. "We are abstaining. We are not going to participate," Rao was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

BJD abstains from V-P election

This comes hours after former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD) announced to abstain from voting in the Vice Presidential election. Announcing the decision, BJD MP Sasmit Patra said the party has taken this decision to maintain an "equal distance" from BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Congress-led India bloc. 

"BJD president Naveen Patnaik has decided that the party's MPs will abstain from voting in the vice presidential elections. He took the decision after consulting senior party leaders, members of the political affairs committee (PAC) and lawmakers," Patra said.

Vice Presidential election

The polling for the Vice Presidential election, necessitated after the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar, will take place on September 9. While the NDA has fielded CP Radhakrishnan, India bloc's candidate is Buchireddy Sudershan Reddy. 

The electoral college for the vice presidential election comprises a total of 788 members - 245 from the Rajya Sabha and 543 from the Lok Sabha. The 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha are also eligible to vote in the election. 

The present strength of the electoral college is 781 as six seats are vacant in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha. This puts the majority mark at 391. With the backing of 425 NDA MPs, Radhakrishnan is expected to win the Vice Presidential election.