The Election Commission on Thursday issued the notification for the election to the post of Vice President, officially setting the process in motion. The election is scheduled to be held on September 9.
As per the notification, August 21 is the last date for filing nominations. The scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on August 22, while August 25 is the deadline for candidates to withdraw from the race.
Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the Vice‑Presidential position on July 21, 2025, citing health reasons and submitting his resignation under Article 67(a) of the Indian Constitution. His term was originally set to continue until August 2027, but the resignation triggered a mandatory mid-term election.
According to constitutional provisions, when a vacancy arises mid-term, a fresh election must be conducted, and the newly elected Vice President is entitled to a full five-year term from the date they assume office.
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 five vacancies in the 245-member Rajya Sabha.
Of the five vacancies in the Rajya Sabha, four are from Jammu and Kashmir, and one from Punjab.
The seat from Punjab was vacated after AAP leader Sanjeev Arora quit following his election to the state assembly in a bypoll last month.
The effective strength of both the Houses together is 786 and the winning candidate will require 394 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, assuming that the nominated members vote in support of the NDA nominee, which has an effective strength of 240.
The ruling alliance has the support of 422 members.
(With inputs from PTI)