Election of the vice president

Like the election of the President, the election of the Vice President is indirect and in accordance with the system of proportional representation, through the concept of a single transferable vote by secret ballot. The electoral college, which consists of members of both houses of the Parliament, cast their votes to elect the Vice President. However, there is a slight difference in the election of the Vice President and that of the President. The members of the State Legislatures have no role to play in the election of the Vice President, unlike that of the President.

The Selection Process

The Election Commission of India, which holds elections in the country, is responsible for ensuring that free and fair elections to the post of a Vice President are held in the following steps:

• A Returning Officer, who is appointed for the elections, sends out public notices issuing the date of election to the office of the Vice President. The elections for the same must be held within a period of 60 days of the expiry of the term of office of the previous Vice President.
• The nomination of candidates to the office of a Vice President must be affirmed by 20 electors (Members of Parliament) who act as proposers, and 20 electors who act as seconders.
• Each candidate must deposit a total of Rs 15,000 to the Reserve Bank of India, as part of the nomination process.
• The Returning Officer carefully scrutinises and adds to the ballot, the names of all eligible candidates.
• The elections are then held by proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. The nominated candidates can also cast their votes.
• The Returning Officer declares the results to the electoral college, the Central Government and the Election Commission of India, respectively. The name of the Vice President is then officially announced by the Central Government.

Eligibility Criteria

The qualifications needed to become a Vice President of India are the following:

• He or she must be a citizen of India.
• He or she must be over 35 years of age.
• He or she must not hold any office of profit.
• He or she must be qualified for election as a Member of the Rajya Sabha or the Council of States.

Role of the Vice President

According to the Constitution of India, the office of the Vice President is the second highest constitutional post in independent India. The Vice President is the 'ex-officio' Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. The office of the Vice President in India is complementary to that of the President, in that, the Vice President takes over the role of the President in the latter’s absence. In other words, the role of the Vice President is to assist the President in being the nominal head of the Republic of India. However, one must remember that the office of the President and the Vice President cannot be combined in one person, as per the Constitution of India.

Powers and Functions of the Vice President

The Vice President of India, after the President, is the highest dignitary of India, and certain powers are attached to the office of the Vice President. These are:

• The Vice President shall discharge the functions of the President during the temporary absence of the President due to illness or any other cause due to which the President is unable to carry out his functions.
• The Vice President shall act as the President, in case of any vacancy in the office of the President by reason of his death, resignation, removal through impeachment or otherwise. The Vice President shall take over the duties of the President until a new President is elected and resumes office.
• The Vice President is the ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States.
• When the Vice President acts as, or discharges the functions of the President, he or she immediately ceases to perform the normal functions of being the Chairman of the Council of States.