Election Commission Preps For V-P Polls; Dates Soon

New Delhi:The Election Commission (EC) has set the ball rolling for the appointment of the next vice-president of India after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his post on Monday.

While the ruling NDA has an edge in the vice-presidential elections, the BJP has a comfortable margin for its candidate.

The EC on Wednesday said it has started constituting the electoral college comprising MPs of both Houses of Parliament. Both elected and nominated members are eligible to vote in the vice-presidential elections. The ruling BJP has a comfortable margin for its vice-president candidate.

Citing that the ministry of home affairs, vide its Gazette notification S.O.3354(E) dated July 22, notified the resignation of Mr Dhankhar, the poll body said, "The Election Commission, under Article 324, is mandated to conduct the election to the office of the vice-president of India. The election to the office of the vice-president of India is governed by The Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections Act 1952 and the rules made thereunder, namely The Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections Rules 1974.”

“Accordingly, the Election Commission has already started the preparations relating to the vice-presidential elections 2025. On completion of the preparatory activities, the announcement of the election schedule to the office of the vice-president of India will follow as soon as possible,” it added.

The poll body further said that the major pre-announcement activities that have already been started include preparation of the electoral college, which consists of elected as well as nominated members of Rajya Sabha as well as Lok Sabha; finalisation of returning officer/assistant returning officer(s) and preparation and dissemination of background material on all the previous vice-presidential elections.

The Union home ministry on Tuesday formally notified the resignation of Mr Dhankhar from the office of the vice-president after his resignation, citing health reasons, though his term was to end on August 10, 2027.

The new V-P is to be elected within 30 days from the day the EC issues a notification. 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 the 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.

The 543-member Lok Sabha has one vacant seat, while there are five vacancies in the 245-member Rajya Sabha. The effective strength of both the Houses together is 786 and the winning candidate will require 394 votes, considering that all eligible voters exercise their franchise. The ruling alliance has the support of 422 members.