Notification for VP’s election issued, nomination process begins
NDA authorises PM Modi, Nadda to pick its candidate
New Delhi: The nomination process for the September 9 poll to elect the next vice president began on Thursday with the Election Commission issuing a notification.
According to the notification, August 21 is the last date for filing nominations and the documents will be scrutinised on August 22.
August 25 is the last date for the withdrawal of nomination.
The vice president’s post fell vacant on July 21 following the surprise resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar, who cited health reasons for his decision. His term was to end in August 2027.
According to constitutional provisions, in case of a mid-term poll, the incumbent gets a full five-year term.
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 ruling NDA has a comfortable edge in the vice presidential elections.
The vice president is elected by the members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, with nominated members of the Upper House also eligible to vote.
The 543-member Lok Sabha has one vacant seat — Basirhat in West Bengal — while there are six vacancies in the 245-member Rajya Sabha.
Of the six vacancies in the Rajya Sabha, four are from Jammu and Kashmir, and one each from Punjab and Jharkhand. The seat from Punjab fell vacant after AAP leader Sanjeev Arora quit following his election to the state assembly in a byelection last month.
The demise of JMM leader Shibu Soren has created a fresh vacancy in the Upper House from Jharkhand.
The effective strength of both the Houses together is 781 and the winning candidate will require 391 votes, considering that all eligible voters exercise their franchise.
In the 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 the Rajya Sabha, which has an effective strength of 240, assuming that the nominated members vote in support of the NDA nominee.
Thus, the ruling alliance has the support of around 422 members.
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 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.
Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance authorised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president J P Nadda to pick the ruling bloc’s vice presidential candidate, as the Election Commission kick-started the nomination process for the poll by issuing a notification.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the alliance leaders took a unanimous decision to authorise Modi and Nadda, who are Leaders of the House in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively as well, to decide on their candidate.
The alliance candidate’s election to the constitutional position is a foregone conclusion due to the NDA’s comfortable majority in the electoral college, which comprises members of the two Houses.
Rijiju said no discussion was held on the likely choices.
Asked if the ruling alliance will reach out to the Opposition to evolve a consensus on the next vice president, he told reporters that as of now Modi and Nadda have been authorised to identify the alliance’s candidate.
He said, “There are certain conventions. If opposition parties come and discuss with us, we will always discuss with them. But this is a constitutional process which we have to do.”
Union ministers Rajnath Singh, who chaired the meeting, and Amit Shah besides Nadda and Rijiju from the BJP, JD(U)’s Lalan Singh, Shiv Sena’s Shrikant Shinde, TDP’s Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, and Chirag Paswan of LJP (Ram Vilas) were among those who attended the meeting.
BJP allies like Anupriya Patel and Upendra Kushwaha were also part of the confabulations besides leaders from the AIADMK and several other smaller parties.
Against the maximum strength of 788, the effective strength of the two Houses is 781 due to one vacancy in the Lower House and six in the Upper House, including one caused by the recent death of former Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren.
The ruling NDA’s strength is around 422, comfortably above the majority mark of 391.
INDIA bloc parties have indicated that they will name their candidate as well to send out a message of their uncompromising opposition to the government at a time the already sharp differences between the two alliances have deepened over the Opposition’s stir against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been spearheading a campaign, alleging that the Election Commission has been colluding with the BJP to rig elections.
The last date of filing of nomination for vice president is August 21, and the election will be held on September 9 in case the opposition fields a rival candidate against the NDA.
The election has been necessitated following the abrupt resignation of then-Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21.
Though he had resigned citing health reasons, his departure is believed to have been triggered by the souring of his ties with the government, making his continuation untenable.
The vice president is ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, occupying a key position critical to the government agenda in Parliament.
