On Friday, the UPA-Left candidate for the Vice-presidential poll, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, 70, was declared elected as India’s 13th Vice President. The contest was triangular among the NDA’s candidate Nazma Heptullah, UNPA’s candidate Rasheed Massod and Hamid himself.

Hamid Ansari registered his comfortable victory by a convincing margin over other two candidates. For the first time, the election for the post of Vice-president was all a Muslim contest.

According to the report, Hamid Ansari received 455 votes in the Electoral College of total 788 votes from the both houses of Parliament.

In the electoral college of 788, the effective strength of the two Houses is 783NDA’s candidate Nazma Heptullah received 222 votes in the election and Masood finished at third place by receiving poor 75 votes. Ten votes were found as invalid votes in the election.

And Najma Heptullah may have lost the poll but she successfully helped to bring the BJP and Shiv Sena together once again. Shiv Sena MP, Manohar Joshi put it aptly saying that the split between the two parties was over.

Hamid Ansari is a scholar, a career diplomat. He was chairperson of the Minorities Commission. He was also the Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University.

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