Surinder Sharma
Jammu: The process to elect India’s 15th Vice President is underway and expected to conclude by the end of August, subject to prevailing conditions. However, Jammu and Kashmir will play a limited role in this crucial electoral process due to the complete absence of its representation in the Rajya Sabha.
Despite having a quota of four seats in the Upper House, all Rajya Sabha seats from Jammu and Kashmir are currently vacant. As a result, only the five Lok Sabha members from the Union Territory will be eligible to vote in the upcoming Vice Presidential election.
The vacancy gains prominence following the resignation of current Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21, citing health reasons, which left the position open during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. Two days later, the Election Commission of India initiated the process to elect his successor.
According to Articles 63 to 71 of the Indian Constitution and the Vice-President (Election) Rules, 1974, the Vice President is elected by an electoral college comprising members of both Houses of Parliament—543 from the Lok Sabha and 245 from the Rajya Sabha, totaling 788. However, due to current vacancies, only 782 members will be voting in this cycle. The winning candidate will require at least 392 votes to secure a majority.
Of the five vacant Rajya Sabha seats, four belong to Jammu and Kashmir, and one to Punjab, the latter becoming vacant after Sanjeev Arora assumed a legislative assembly seat.
Although Jammu and Kashmir held its first Assembly elections in over six years in 2023, the four Rajya Sabha seats allocated to the region remain unfilled. The 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly is constitutionally responsible for electing Rajya Sabha members, yet the Election Commission has not initiated the process to fill these vacancies.
Notably, while bypolls were announced in May for Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat, Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal, no dates have been scheduled for filling the vacant seats from Jammu and Kashmir, or for the Badgam and Nagrota Assembly constituencies.
