New Delhi: India is set to choose its new Vice President today in a keenly watched election. The ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has nominated CP Radhakrishnan, while the opposition INDIA bloc has fielded B Sudershan Reddy.
Mr. Radhakrishnan, currently the Governor of Maharashtra, faces Mr. Reddy, a retired Supreme Court judge. The election was necessitated after Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned in July due to health issues, cutting short his five-year term.
Voting schedule
Polling will be held in Parliament House, New Delhi, from 10 am to 5 pm. Once voting concludes, the ballot boxes will be sealed and counting will begin after 6 pm. Results are expected to be announced later tonight.
Who Forms the Electoral College
The Vice President is elected by an electoral college of 788 Members of Parliament from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. This includes both elected and nominated MPs.
Election oversight
The Election Commission of India is conducting the poll. For this election, Pramod Chandra Mody, Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha, is serving as the Returning Officer. He is assisted by senior Rajya Sabha Secretariat officials Garima Jain and Vijay Kumar as Assistant Returning Officers.
Eligibility criteria
According to Articles 66 and 67 of the Constitution, a candidate must:
Not hold any office of profit under the central or state government
How the election works
Candidates require 20 proposers and 20 seconders from among MPs, along with a security deposit of ₹15,000 to file nomination. Voting is by secret ballot using the single transferable vote (STV) system of proportional representation.
MPs rank candidates in order of preference. A candidate needs over 50% of valid votes to be declared elected. If no one achieves this in the first round, the candidate with the least votes is eliminated, and their votes are transferred based on the next preference, continuing until one crosses the majority mark.
Importance of the post
The Vice President is the second-highest constitutional office in India and also serves as the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.
This election is notable as it comes before the completion of the incumbent’s tenure - the last such early Vice Presidential poll was held in 1987.
