How is the Vice President of India elected? - Everything you need to know

India will have a new Vice-President soon with the election underway.

The sitting Vice-President, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, has served two terms. His first term began in August 2007, while the second began in August 2012.

VOTING PROCESS

To become a candidate, an individual must meet certain criteria. He or she must be nominated by at least 20 electors as proposers and seconders each.

The Vice-President is elected by an electoral college. Only the Members of Parliament (MPs) from Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha are eligible to vote. Civilians and Members of Legislative Assemblies do not elect the Vice President directly.

Besides the elected members of the two Houses, even the nominated members such as the ones from Anglo-Indian community are allowed to vote.

To win the election, a candidate must secure at least 393 votes out of 785 votes, which is the combined strength of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The Bharatiya Janata Party is the single largest party in both Houses, so its candidate is widely expected to sail through.

Voting will take place between 10 am and 5 pm on August 5 and the result will be announced on the same day.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Vice-President's post is the second highest constitutional office in the country. The Vice-President is slated to serve as acting President in the event of the President's resignation, death or impeachment.

The person elected to the post also serves as a member of the Rajya Sabha and is the House's Speaker. He or she has the power to decide if an introduced bill can be considered a Financial Bill.

In terms of hierarchy, the Vice-President is higher than the Prime Minister and represents the country on foreign diplomatic visits too.

The Vice-President's official residence is No. 6, Maulana Azad Road, off Janpath in New Delhi.