On July 21, 2025, Jagdeep Dhankhar, the 14th Vice President of India, resigned from his post due to health reasons. Jagdeep Dhankhar was appointed as the Vice President of India in August 2022 and was expected to serve until 2027. As Vice President, he also served as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s Parliament. His resignation came on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
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What will happen now?
There is no provision in the Indian Constitution for an acting Vice President. However, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Harivansh Narayan Singh, will preside over the House in the absence of the Vice President.
The Constitution mandates that an election for the Vice President’s post must be held “as soon as possible” after the vacancy occurs.
The Election Commission of India will announce the election schedule. The newly elected Vice President will serve a fresh five-year term starting from the day they take office.
How is the Vice President elected?
The Vice President of India is elected indirectly by an electoral college consisting of all members of both Houses of Parliament—that is, both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including both elected and nominated members. The election uses a system called proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote, and the voting is done by secret ballot.
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Here’s how it works in simple terms:
Each member of Parliament ranks the candidates in order of preference (1 for first choice, 2 for second, and so on).
To win, a candidate must secure more than half of the total valid votes based on a special formula.
If no candidate meets the required quota from first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those votes are transferred to the voters’ next preferred candidate.
This process continues until one candidate reaches the required quota and is declared elected.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates for the Vice President must be Indian citizens, at least 35 years old, and qualified to be elected as members of the Rajya Sabha. They must not hold any office of profit under the Government of India. The entire election process is supervised by the Election Commission of India.
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