After the president, the vice president of India is the second highest constitutional office in the Indian government. When a situation arises owing to the president’s resignation, removal, death, impeachment, or inability to exercise their powers, the vice president performs the functions of the president under Article 63 of the Indian Constitution. They also serve as the ex officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of Parliament. Since the post’s creation in 1950, there have been 13 vice presidents. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, India’s first vice president, was sworn in at Rashtrapati Bhavan on May 13, 1952. He went on to become President.
The Vice-President of India is the second-highest constitutional office in the Indian government and serves as the Rajya Sabha’s ex-officio chairman. The Vice-President is chosen by members of an electoral college made up of members of both houses of Parliament, with the State Legislature having no say in the process. M Venkaiah Naidu is India’s current Vice President, having taken office on August 11, 2017.Violet Hari Alva (24 April 1908 – 20 November 1969) was an Indian lawyer, journalist, and politician who served as the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha and a member of the Indian National Congress (INC). She was India’s first female lawyer to appear in a High Court and the first woman to preside over the Rajya Sabha. He was India’s first female counsel to defend a case in front of a full High Court bench. Alva also founded a women’s magazine, The Begum, in 1944, which was eventually renamed Indian Women. She was the vice chairperson of the Bombay Municipal Corporation from 1946 to 1947. Alva served as an Honorary Magistrate in Mumbai in 1947 and as the President of the Juvenile Court from 1948 to 1954. She was a member of the Young Women’s Christian Association, the Business and Professional Women’s Association, and the International Federation of Women Lawyers, among others. She was also the first woman elected to the All India Newspaper Editors Conference’s Standing Committee in 1952.
According to Article 65 of the Indian Constitution, he has the authority to make critical decisions in the event of the President of India’s resignation, dismissal, death, impeachment, or inability to perform his duties.
List of Vice-Presidents of India and their term of office (1952-2022)
S.No |
Vice-President |
Tenure |
1 |
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |
12 May 1962 |
2 |
Varahagiri Venkata Giri |
20 July 1969 |
3 |
Basappa Danappa Jatti |
30 August 1979 |
4 |
Ramaswamy Venkataraman |
24 July 1987 |
5 |
Kocheril Raman Narayanan |
24 July 1997 |
6 |
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat |
21 July 2007 |
7 |
M Venkaiah Naidu |
Incumbent |
In order to be eligible for election as Vice President, a candidate must possess all of the following:
a. he or she originates from India;
b. has reached the age of 35 and has completed their 35th year, and
c. meets the requirements to be nominated for and elected to a seat on the Council of States (Rajya Sabha).
That is to say, he needs to be a citizen of India, reach the age of thirty, and be a registered voter in the parliamentary seat of a state or union territory that he wants to represent if he wants to be elected to that position. If a person currently occupies any office of profit under the Government of India, a State Government, or any subordinate local authority, then that person is ineligible for the position.
An electoral college made up of members of both houses of parliament casts their votes in a secret ballot election to determine who will serve as Vice President of the country. This election is conducted in accordance with a proportional voting system that utilises a single vote that can be transferred to multiple candidates. The whole membership of both houses of Parliament is included in the Electoral College for the purpose of choosing a candidate for the position of Vice President. An election to replace a vacancy that will be created as a result of the term of office of the Vice President coming to an end is held and finished in advance of the term’s end. In the event that a vacancy occurs as a result of circumstances such as death, resignation, removal, or any other reason, the election to fill that vacancy takes place as quickly as feasible following the occurrence. The person who receives such an election is eligible to serve in that office for a full five-year term beginning on the day he takes office.
Conclusion
Members of an electoral college made up of members of both houses of Parliament elected him. The Vice President is not a member of either House of Parliament or any state legislature’s House of Representatives. If a candidate is elected to the role of Vice President, his or her seat in the House is declared vacant. This election will be held using a proportional voting method, in which a single vote can be used to vote for numerous candidates. A person who currently holds a profit-making position with the Government of India, a State Government, or a subordinate local authority is ineligible for the position. For the purpose of selecting a candidate for Vice President, the Electoral College includes the whole membership of both houses of Parliament. Violet Hari Alva was an Indian lawyer, journalist, and politician who lived from April 24, 1908 until November 20, 1969. She was first woman Vice President of India.