In the Indian political system, the position and office of the Vice president hold specific powers and responsibilities regarding the execution of several political activities. The vice president holds the second-highest dignitary in the Indian political system after the position of President. In the present Indian political system, the framework of the office system is adopted from the office model of the Vice-president of the USA. The Vice-President of India also manages the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. The Vice-President is elected indirectly by an electoral college by the members of both houses of Parliament.

Vice President Of India: Constitutional Provisions:

The constitution of India comprises special mention regarding the election of the Vice President in India, elected indirectly by an electoral college. There are frequent mentions in variant amendments and articles regarding the office model of vice presidents, their powers, responsibility, and tenure of service. The constitution also discusses the vice president’s eligibility, qualification, and removal criteria. Below are the mentions:

  • The constitution Part V mentions the roles, responsibilities, election, positioning, and eligibility of the Vice President of India. Articles 63 to 73 specifically mention all aspects of the vice president descriptively.
  • Articles 63 and 64 denote the position of Vice president is necessary for the Indian Political system with their active power for the position of ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
  • Article 65 mentions that the Vice-president will hold the power equivalent to the President without an active president until the new President is elected.
  • Article 66 mentions the regulation under which the election of the Vice-president takes place.
  • Articles 67 and 68 briefly mention the tenure of the vice president’s office and its vacancy laws.
  • Article 69 indicates the vice-president’s affirmative powers and oath criteria after the election.
  • Article 71 provides information on specific matters associated with the election process of the President and Vice-President.

Election Process Of Vice President: 

The election process for Vice President is as per the constitutional provision of India with specific rules and regulations. All these laws have been mentioned in the political amendments of the Indian constitution and are necessarily followed at the time of election. Below are mentions of listed regulations regarding the specific criterion of the election of Vice-President:

  • The election of the Vice-President will not be directly from the citizens of India but will take place indirectly.
  • The Vice-President is elected indirectly by an electoral college member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
  • The Voting process takes place through a secret ballot method, and the votes attain single transferable values.
  • The members of the electoral college of Vice-President are members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The members could not hold any position and werenot member of State Legislature. If any misconception and disputes occur during the election of the Vice-President, the Supreme Court will make the final decision.
  • The election commission of India conducts the election for the office model of Vice-President of India, and the voter cannot be a member of either Houses of Parliament.
  • The election tenure occurs for the next Vice-President within 60 days after the expiry of office tenure of the former Vice-President.

Responsibilities And Powers Of The Vice-President:

There are specific roles, responsibilities, and active powers of the Vice-President in the Indian Political system. These powers and responsibilities provide specific supervision and execution of specific political decisions necessary in the political environment. The position of Vice-President is the second most powerful position in the Indian political system. Hence the powers are much more significant, and so are the responsibilities. Below is the mention of all the roles and responsibilities of the elected Vice-President:

  • The Vice-President is active and positioned as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. The role and power are pretty similar to the Lok Sabha speaker.
  • In the absence of a President, specifically in certain situations, the Vice-President will act as a proxy President until the next President is elected. The maximum period of this role is a maximum of 6 months.
  • If the vice-president discharges his duties as the President, his control over Rajya Sabha will not be presided over.

Conclusion:

Hence these are the details about the election of the Vice President elected indirectly by an electoral collegemember of both houses of Parliament. In the constitution of India, the election of the Vice president is a significant activity as this position is the second most powerful and responsible position in the political system of India. However, it is an indirect procedure, and the constitution has specific regulations for this election. The elected Vice-President of India also acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha and holds identical powers to the speaker of Lok Sabha.