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The election for India’s next Vice President will be held on September 9, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Friday. The result will be declared on the same day. The last date for filing nomination papers will be August 21, it said.
The Congress-led opposition is mulling fielding a common candidate to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s candidate. The next Vice President will serve a five-year term, not the remainder of Jagdeep Dhankhar’s term, which was set to end in August 2027.
Dhankhar, who was from outside the Sangh Parivar fold, started his political career in the Congress before shifting to the Janata Dal. He resigned on July 21 citing medical reasons, though his relationship with the government had been strained in recent months. Sources indicated that the BJP is now considering fielding a candidate more closely aligned with the party’s ethos.
The electoral college for the vice presidential election comprises members of the Lok Sabha (543) and Rajya Sabha (245), including its nominated members. Currently, there are five vacancies in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha, reducing the effective strength of the two houses to 240 and 542, respectively. Therefore, the electoral college will have 782 members. The vacancy in the Lok Sabha is from Basirhat in West Bengal, while the five Rajya Sabha vacancies include four from Jammu and Kashmir and one from Punjab.
In the Lok Sabha, the NDA holds 293 seats, and in the Rajya Sabha, it has 129 members, assuming all nominated members vote in support of the NDA nominee. With the support of 422 members, the ruling alliance has enough to secure a majority in the electoral college.
Polling for the 17th Vice Presidential election, if required, will take place in Room F-101, Vasudha, on the first floor of the Parliament building on September 9, between 10 am and 5 pm. To be eligible for election as Vice President, a person must be a citizen of India, at least 35 years old, and qualified to be elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha. The person must also not hold any office of profit under the government of India, a state government, or any subordinate local authority.
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