The election to the Vice President's office will happen sooner than later. The Election Commission has fast tracked the process on Friday, July 25 by announcing the appointment of Returning Officer and two Assistant ROs for the same.
The poll panel in an official statement said that Secretary General, Rajya Sabha, PC Mody will be the Returning Officer for the ensuing Vice-Presidential Election.
The Hon’ble Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, has appointed the Secretary General, Rajya Sabha, P C Mody as Returning Officer, it said.
Ms Garima Jain, Joint Secretary, Rajya Sabha Secretariat and Vijay Kumar, Director, Rajya Sabha Secretariat will be two Assistant Returning Officers during the Vice-Presidential Election, 2025.
The election to the office of the Vice President, who is also ex-offico Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, has been necessitated following sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar from the post on July 21 evening.
His resignation was accepted by President Draupadi Murmu on July 22 with no effort being made from the ruling BJP to make the outgoing Vice Prez reconsider his decision.
Dhankhar attributed health reasons for his exit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet virtually endorsed the resignation and wished good health to Mr Dhankhar.
The Jat politician from Rajasthan was also an advocate. He was West Bengal Governor before being elevated to the post of Vice President. The election to the Vice Prez post would have otherwise taken place in July-August 2027.
The Election Commission of India, under Article 324, is mandated to conduct the election to the office of the Vice President of India. The election to the office of the V-P is governed by The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952 and the rules made there under, namely ‘The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Rules, 1974’.
Under Section 3 of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, the Election Commission, in consultation with the Central Government, appoints a Returning Officer, who shall have his office in New Delhi, and may also appoint one or more Assistant Returning Officers.
“As per convention, either Secretary General, Lok Sabha or Secretary General, Rajya Sabha is appointed as the Returning Officer by rotation. During the last Vice-Presidential election, the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha was appointed as the Returning Officer,” the poll panel said.
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| Blogger in Parliament premises |
"The heartburn is real. There was no farewell speech. Forget the high tea with snacks for Jagdeep Dhankhar, whose resignation from the Vice-President's post surprised one and all. Though he cited health issues for his exit, some steamed dhokla for farewell wouldn't have hurt. But what's stopping the Opposition, and mainly the Congress, from serving him some dhokla and making the most of a golden opportunity?," says an article in 'India Today'.
One argument is sheer lack of "out-of-the-box thinking" and political flexibility is preventing the Congress from doing unto the BJP what it has been doing to it.
The reference is to former Congress stalwarts -- Capt Amarinder Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Shashi Tharoor -- and do not forget for bright talents such as Himanta Biswa Sarma and Jyotiraditya Scindia.
What's stopping the Opposition then from making the most of a golden opportunity? Had it been the BJP, it would have lunged at the opportunity and projected it as a political crisis, if not a constitutional one.
Dhankhar wasn't a politician with ideological moorings in the BJP or the Sangh Parivar. He wore political coats of all hues.
He was handpicked by Tau Devi Lal and contested the 1989 election on a Janata Dal ticket. But he ditched Devi Lal in 1990 and joined the Chandra Shekhar government. He later joined the Congress and became an MLA from Rajasthan.
It was only in 2003, after over two decades in politics, that he joined the BJP.
Even in 2025, the story goes he played up a game that would ultimately leave PM Modi leaking his wounds.
In fact, in BJP circles, Dhankhar's resignation is also being termed jokingly as 'Operation Gaddar (betrayal)' as the former Vice President almost created a major constitutional and political crisis for Modi.
ends
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