To win the Vice-President election, the candidate has to secure one vote more than 50 percent of the valid votes.
Published Aug 01, 2025 | 4:02 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 01, 2025 | 4:02 PM
Jagdeep Dhankhar, the 14th Vice-President of India.
Synopsis: The Election Commission (EC) will issue the notification for the election for the Vice-President of India on 7 August. The EC said if an election is necessitated, it will be held on 9 September and he votes will be counted on the same day.
The Election Commission (EC) will issue the notification for the election for the Vice-President of India on 7 August, sources said on Friday, 1 August. The election was necessitated after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post on 21 July, citing health issues.
Aspirants can file nominations till 21 August, which will be scrutinised on 22 August.
Candidates will be able to withdraw their applications till 25 August. The EC said if an election is necessitated, it will be held from 10 am to 5 pm on 9 September. The votes will be counted on the same day.
As per Article 66(1) of the Constitution, the Vice-President of India is elected by an electoral college comprising the elected members of the Rajya Sabha, nominated members of the Rajya Sabha and the elected members of the Lok Sabha.
Unlike the election of the president, the members of state legislatures are not part of the electoral college.
The nomination of a candidate must be subscribed by at least 20 electors as proposers and 20 electors as seconders. Every candidate has to make a security deposit of ₹15,000 (US$180) in the Reserve Bank of India.
The Vice-President holds office for a term of five years from the date of election. However, notwithstanding the expiration of his term, the elected person will continue to hold office until a successor is elected.
To contest the election to the Office of Vice-President, the candidate must be a citizen of India, must have completed 35 years of age, must be eligible to be a member of the Rajya Sabha and must not hold any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local or other authority, subject to the control of any of the said Governments.
For the election, the Secretary General of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha is appointed as the Returning Officer by rotation. Two other senior officers of the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha Secretariat are appointed as the Assistant Returning Officers by the EC.
A candidate can submit a maximum of four nomination papers. However, only one security deposit is required in this regard.
An elector can propose or second the name of only one candidate, and if one person subscribes as proposer or seconder, the nomination papers of more than one candidate, the signature shall be deemed operative only on the nomination paper first delivered to the Returning Officer.
Unlike the Presidential election (where the value of votes cast by the Members of Parliament and the various State Legislative Assemblies are different, the value of every vote cast in the Vice-Presidential election has the same value — one.
Every elector can mark as many preferences if more than one candidates contests the election. These preferences for the candidates are to be
marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1,2,3,4, 5 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference.
To win the election, the candidate has to secure one vote more than 50 percent of the valid votes.
“If the total value of the votes credited to any candidate at the first count, is equal to, or greater than the quota sufficient to secure the return of a candidate, he is declared elected by the Returning Officer. If, however, after the first round of counting, no candidate secures the requisite quota, then the counting proceeds on the basis of a process of elimination and exclusion, whereby the candidate credited with the lowest number of votes is excluded and all his ballot papers are distributed among the remaining (continuing) candidates on the basis of the second preferences marked thereon. The ballot papers on which second preference is not marked is treated as exhausted ballot papers and shall not be further counted, even if the third or subsequent preferences are marked thereon,” the EC said.
“If no candidate secures the requisite quota, then the process of counting will continue on the same basis of elimination and exclusion, till a candidate secures the required quota of votes. In case, even after the exclusion of the candidates receiving the lowest number of votes, no candidates secures the requisite quota and ultimately one candidate remains as the lone continuing candidate, he is declared elected even if he has failed to secure the quota sufficient to secure the return of a candidate,” it added.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
