Is there constitutional crisis after Jagdeep Dhankar quits? How, when, for how long new vice president be elected?

Jagdeep Dhankhar, Outgoing Vice President (File Image)

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar shocked a wide range of people, including politicians, journalists, lawyers, and constitutional experts. He took off-guard the politicians from ruling as well as the opposition parties. Dhankhar announced his resignation from the second-highest office of the country and sent the letter to President Droupadi Murmu Monday evening, the first day of the much-awaited Monsoon session. Contrary to his earlier habit of hitting the headlines with his controversial comments, this time he sprang the surprise by quitting one of the most coveted posts of any democracy. Will it cause a constitutional crisis by creating a void at the top? What will happen to the Rajya Sabha, particularly when a standoff between the government and the opposition on a slew of issues is most likely to happen? How and when will his replacement be elected? 

(Rajya Sabha)

Is there constitutional crisis?

Jagdeep Dhankhar has raised these questions by quitting silently. First, there will be no constitutional crisis as the constitution has enough guidelines to deal with the situation. According to the constitutional provisions, the vice president is the chairman of the upper house, and his roles will be taken over by the deputy chairman. After V V Giri and S Radhakrishan quit to contest the presidential elections, their roles were taken over by Gopal Swarup Pathak and Shankar Dayal Sharma, respectively. Deputy Speaker Harivansh Narayan Singh will discharge his duties in the Rajya Sabha. So, there is no constitutional crisis. 

Though the constitution has laid down the provisions of electing the president within six months after the office falls vacant, there is no such provision for the office of the vice president. The constitution only says that the new vice president should be elected ‘as soon as possible’. As the upper house of the parliament is a permanent chamber, it never gets dissolved, unlike the Lok Sabha. The new chairman can be elected ‘as soon as possible’ and the deputy speaker will continue with discharging his duties. There is no constitutional crisis even if the election is delayed due to certain reasons. 

How is vice president elected?

Under Article 324 of the Constitution of India, the authority to conduct elections to the Office of Vice-President is vested in the Election Commission of India. The vice president of India is elected by an Electoral College, which consists of the members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, both elected and nominated members. Members of the Electoral College can vote according to their

choice, they are not bound by any party whip. 

How long will new president remain in office?

According to Article 66(1) of the Constitution of India, the election of the Vice President shall be held by the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, and the voting at such election shall be by a secret vote. The voting is by secret ballot. The vice president is elected for a period of five years. In the present case, the new vice president will hold the office for five years notwithstanding the fact that the office has fallen vacant by mid-term resignation.