Vice-Presidential Poll Process Begins, Rajya Sabha Secretary General Appointed Returning Officer

National Times Bureau, July 25: In a key step toward the conduct of the Vice-Presidential election, the Election Commission on Thursday appointed the Rajya Sabha Secretary General as the Returning Officer for the upcoming poll. The move marks the formal initiation of the election process, which is expected to take place during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Alongside the appointment of the Returning Officer, two senior officials from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat Garima Jain, Joint Secretary, and Vijay Kumar, Director have been named as Assistant Returning Officers. The gazette notification announcing the official schedule of the election is slated to be issued later on Friday.

This election has been necessitated by the resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who stepped down on July 21 citing health reasons. The vacancy triggered the legal framework outlined in The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952 and Rules of 1974, which guide the process for electing the Vice President.

Under Section 3 of the 1952 Act, the Election Commission, in consultation with the Central Government, designates a Returning Officer for the election, with the post usually alternating between the Secretary Generals of the two Houses of Parliament. In keeping with this rotation, since the Lok Sabha Secretary General served during the last election, the Rajya Sabha official has now taken charge.

The Vice-President of India also serves as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, making this election crucial for the functioning of the Upper House. With preparations now underway, political parties are expected to start strategizing their support ahead of the formal declaration of candidates.