RS gen secy appointed returning officer for vice presidential poll

Garima Jain, joint secretary, and Vijay Kumar, director, both from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, have been appointed as assistant returning officers, two separate gazette notifications said.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday appointed the secretary general of the Rajya Sabha as the returning officer for the Vice-Presidential election, four days after Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from the post citing medical reasons.

RS gen secy appointed returning officer for vice presidential poll

Garima Jain, joint secretary, and Vijay Kumar, director, both from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, have been appointed as assistant returning officers, two separate gazette notifications said.

The appointments were made in consultation with the Ministry of Law and Justice and with the consent of the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Under Article 324 of the Constitution and the provisions of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952 and the associated rules framed in 1974, the ECI is responsible for conducting the election to the office of the Vice President of India. According to Section 3 of the Act, the returning officer must be based in New Delhi. By convention, the role rotates between the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. In the previous Vice-Presidential election, the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha served as the returning officer.

The Vice-Presidential election follows a system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote through secret ballot. The Electoral College comprises only Members of Parliament—both elected and nominated members of the Lok Sabha (543 elected, 2 nominated) and the Rajya Sabha (233 elected, 12 nominated), totaling 790 electors. Nominated members, who do not vote in Presidential elections, are eligible to vote in Vice-Presidential polls.

The nomination process requires candidates to file in prescribed Form 3. Each nomination must be backed by at least 20 proposers and 20 seconders, all of whom must be MPs. A candidate cannot be supported by the same MP more than once. A security deposit of ₹15,000 must accompany the nomination, either in cash or pre-deposited with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Candidates may submit up to four nomination papers.

Nominations are scrutinised on a fixed date to verify signatures and eligibility. Candidates can withdraw their nominations within two days after scrutiny. Based on the 2022 precedent, the election schedule typically includes notification issuance, a seven-day nomination period, scrutiny, withdrawal, and polling around 30 days after notification. In 2022, the election process lasted 32 days.

The vacancy in the Vice President’s office was formalised through a Gazette Notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on July 22.

The ECI confirmed on Wednesday that it had initiated preparations, including the formation of the Electoral College, finalization of election officials, and compilation of background materials on past Vice-Presidential elections. The commission stated that the election schedule will be announced soon.

Article 68 of the Constitution requires that an election to fill a Vice-Presidential vacancy be held “as soon as possible” after the office falls vacant.

In the interim, the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha discharges the Vice President’s duties as ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) holds approximately 293 members in the Lok Sabha and 133 in the Rajya Sabha, giving it control over 426 MPs. This exceeds the simple majority threshold of 396 votes in the 790-member electoral college.