Vice-President Election

Vice-President Election
x
Highlights

As the race for Vice President gets underway, it’s the NDA’s newly nominated candidate, Venkaiah Naidu, facing off against the Opposition’s nominee, Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

As the race for Vice President gets underway, it’s the NDA’s newly nominated candidate, Venkaiah Naidu, facing off against the Opposition’s nominee, Gopalkrishna Gandhi. For anyone to contest the election for the Vice-President of India, he or she: must be a citizen of India; must have completed 35 years of age; must be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha; must not hold any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local government.

Unlike in the President of India’s election, the value of the vote of each MP in the Vice-President’s election is one. It has to be noted that nominated members of both the Lok Sabha & the Rajya Sabha are also eligible to vote in the Vice-President’s election. The total number of voters in the Vice-Presidential election is 790.

The number of voters from the Lok Sabha is 545 (543 elected and 2 nominated) while the number of voters from the Rajya Sabha is 245 (233 elected and 12 nominated). Each voter can mark as many preferences, as the number of candidates contesting the election. These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the voter, by marking the figures 1,2,3, 4, 5 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference.

The winning candidate has to secure the required quota of votes to be declared elected, that is 50 percent of valid votes polled +1. For example, if the total number of valid votes polled is 790, then the quota required for getting elected is 1+790/2 i.e., 396. If, however, after the first round of counting, no candidate secures the required quota of votes, then the counting proceeds on the basis of a process of elimination and exclusion, whereby the candidate credited with the lowest number of votes in the first round is excluded and all his ballot papers are distributed among the remaining candidates on the basis of the second preferences marked on these ballots.

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. This process is continued until there is a clear winner with 50% +1. (Courtesy: www.factly.in)

Show Full Article
Print Article
Next Story
More Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENTS