The Election Commission of India(EC) on Thursday issued a notification for the September 9 election to the office of the Vice President of India with crucial dates in the procedure, hence kickstarting the nomination process.
The decision comes after a vacancy was created after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from his post on July 21, citing health concerns.
The official notification from the EC on Thursday read that under clause (2) of Article 68 of the Constitution of India, an election to fill the said vacancy is required to be held as soon as possible after the occurrence of the vacancy.
“The Election Commission of India hereby calls upon the Electoral College to elect a person to fill the said vacancy in the office of the Vice-President of India, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952 (31 of 1952), and the Rules and Orders made thereunder,” the official notification read.
According to constitutional provisions, in case of a mid-term poll too, the incumbent gets a full five-year term. Dhankhar had two years remaining in his term.
What are key dates for VP poll?
August 21, 2025, Thursday: The last date for making nominations. Place of delivering nomination papers is at the office of the RO at Parliament House, New Delhi, between 11 am and 3 pm.
A security deposit of ₹15,000 has to be deposited either in cash with the RO or in the Reserve Bank of India or in a Government Treasury, said an official press note.
August 22, 2025, Friday: The date for scrutiny of the nominations. Place of scrutiny of nomination papers is also an assigned room at Parliament House, at 11 am.
August 25, 2025, Monday: The last date for the withdrawal of candidatures.
September 9, 2025, Tuesday: The date on which a poll shall, if necessary, be taken at Parliament between between 10 am and 5 pm, as per the commission’s notification.
Who participates in the poll?
The VP is elected by all members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
The 543-member Lok Sabha, currently has one vacant seat, Basirhat in West Bengal. Currently, in the 245-member Rajya Sabha, there are five vacancies, four from Jammu and Kashmir, and one from Punjab. The seat from Punjab was vacated after AAP leader Sanjeev Arora resigned following his election to the state assembly in a bypoll last month.
VP poll procedure
Article 66 (1) of the Constitution of India provides that the vice-presidential election shall be held in accordance with the system of Proportional Representation, by means of single transferable vote, and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.
Parties cannot issue whips or directions on this.
What bars a candidate for contesting for the Vice President’s post?
A candidate can only contest for the vice president’s post if he is a citizen of India, has completed 35 years of age and is qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha.
A person is also not eligible if he holds any office of profit under the government of India or a state government or any subordinate local authority.