Vice presidential election on Sept 9; close contest likely
The Vice President election will be held on September 9, following Jagdeep Dhankhar's surprise resignation. With 782 members eligible to vote, the NDA holds a numerical advantage, while the opposition is expected to field a joint candidate
New Delhi: The election for the post of Vice President will be held on September 9 and is set to be a keen contest with the Congress-led opposition likely to field a common candidate to take on the BJP-led NDA which has the numbers on its side.
The surprise resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21 was the first time an incumbent stepped down mid-term and did not seek a higher office. Dhankhar had over two years of tenure left at the time of his resignation.
Earlier, V V Giri and R Venkataraman had quit their offices mid-term, but both were contesting the presidential election in 1969 and 1987 respectively. The Election Commission on Friday announced that the 17th vice presidential election will be held on September 9. The notification for the election will be issued on August 7 and the last date for filing nomination papers will be August 21.
The polling, if required, shall take place in room number F-101, Vasudha, on the first floor of Parliament building on September 9 between 10 am and 5 pm. The results will be announced on the same day.
Opposition leaders have said that they were likely to put up a common candidate for the vice presidential election.
The BJP is expected to prioritise organisational rootedness and political commitment over an excessive focus on experimentation that has at times made them look outside their own pool of talent, as was the case with Dhankhar in the 2022 polls.
The Electoral College for the vice presidential election comprises members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The nominated members of Rajya Sabha too are eligible to vote in the vice presidential election.
The electoral college for the vice presidential election comprises 233 elected members of Rajya Sabha, 12 nominated members of Rajya Sabha and 543 members of Lok Sabha. There are five vacancies in Rajya Sabha and one in Lok Sabha, pegging the effective strength of the electoral college at 782.
The ruling NDA has a comfortable edge in the ensuing poll. The 543-member Lok Sabha has one vacant seat — Basirhat in West Bengal — while there are five vacancies in the 245-member Rajya Sabha.
Of the five vacancies in Rajya Sabha, four are from Jammu and Kashmir, and one from Punjab. The seat from Punjab was vacated after AAP leader Sanjeev Arora quit following his election to the state assembly in a bypoll last month. The effective strength of both the Houses together is 782 and the winning candidate will require 391 votes, considering that all eligible voters exercise their franchise.
In Lok Sabha, the BJP-led NDA enjoys the support of 293 of the 542 members. The ruling alliance has the support of 129 members in Rajya Sabha (effective strength 240), assuming that the nominated members vote in support of the NDA nominee.
The ruling alliance has the support of 422 members.
A person cannot be elected as the vice president unless he is a citizen of India, has completed 35 years of age and is qualified for election as a member of Rajya Sabha. A person is also not eligible if he holds any office of profit under the government of India or a state government or any subordinate local authority.
Article 66 (1) of the Constitution provides that the vice presidential election shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot. In this system, the elector has to mark preferences against the names of the candidates.
The vice president is the second highest constitutional office in the country. He or she serves for a five-year term, but can continue to be in office, irrespective of the expiry of the term, until the successor assumes office.
