The vice presidential polls have begun on August 7, 2012 and it seems like the UPA nominee Hamid Ansari would get a second chance as the vice president. There are chances that Ansari might emerge as a clear winner against the NDA’s Jaswant Singh in a direct contest for the post.

A total of 788 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs are eligible to vote in the poll to elect the 14th Vice President. Members from the UPA are confident that their candidate Ansari will get at least 500 votes.

Ansari in the vice presidential polls definitely has an edge as far as the arithmetic is concerned. There are also possibilities that Ansari might enter the history books as the only person after S Radhakrishnan to get a second term.

The Congress has 204 members in Lok Sabha and 71 in Rajya Sabha while UPA constituents Trinamool Congress has 19 MPs in Lok Sabha and 7 in Rajya Sabha. The polling began today at a brisk note in which Ansari seems the grab the contest. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Prim e Minister Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi came together to cast their vote in the presidential elections. Even BJP leaders, LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj cast their vote.