New Delhi: The Election Commission of India on Friday announced the schedule for the election of the Vice President of India, setting the poll date for September 9, 2025, if required.

The results will be declared the same day, the Commission confirmed.

The official notification for the election will be issued on August 7, and the last date for filing nomination papers is August 21.

The polling, if required, shall take place in room number F-101, Vasudha, on the first floor of Parliament building on September 9 between 10 am and 5 pm.

The announcement follows the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar from the post of Vice President on July 21, citing health reasons mid-way through his term.

The Election Commission has appointed the Rajya Sabha Secretary General as the Returning Officer and two officials of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat as Assistant Returning Officers for the vice presidential election.

The Electoral College for the vice presidential election comprises members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The nominated members of the Rajya Sabha, too are eligible to vote in the vice presidential election.

The electoral college for the vice presidential election comprises 233 elected members of the Rajya Sabha, 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha and 543 members of the Lok Sabha.

There are five vacancies in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha, pegging the effective strength of the electoral college at 782.

The ruling NDA has a comfortable edge in the ensuing poll.

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 782, and the winning candidate will require 391 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 (effective strength 240), assuming that the nominated members vote in support of the NDA nominee.

The ruling alliance has the support of a total of 422 members.

Qualifications for the Vice President of India

A person cannot be elected as the vice president unless 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.

Article 66 (1) of the Constitution provides that the vice presidential election shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.

In this system, the elector has to mark preferences against the names of the candidates.

The vice president is the second-highest constitutional office in the country. He/she serves for a five-year term, but can continue to be in office, irrespective of the expiry of the term, until the successor assumes office.

With PTI inputs