Radhakrishnan replaces Jagdeep Dhankhar: The other key responsibility that awaits India's new VP

Key responsibility of Rajya Sabha chairman awaits

The Vice President election became necessary due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21 (Monday), almost two years before his term was to end, citing health reasons.

In what turned out to be his last day as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Dhankhar presided over an unusually charged first sitting of the Monsoon Session on July 21.

At around 4 pm, a government statement said the Vice President would be visiting Jaipur on Wednesday. Such an announcement had set off speculation as the visit would have come during an ongoing session of Parliament -- a departure from established conventions. Hours later after the adjournment of the Rajya Sabha, he resigned from his post, citing health concerns.

But before his abrupt exit, earlier in the day, Dhankhar, addressed the Rajya Sabha and raised several serious issues, including the impeachment motion against a high court judge Yashwant Varma and an incident involving unclaimed cash found under a seat in the House.

Dhankhar served as India’s 14th Vice President from August 11, 2022, until his resignation. Earlier, he was the Governor of West Bengal from July 2019 to July 2022, and was known for his vocal exchanges with the state’s Trinamool Congress government.

He is the third Vice President of India to resign during his tenure after V V Giri and R Venkataraman, who had resigned from the post of vice president to contest the presidential election.

He is also the only vice president against whom the opposition brought a notice of removal for "partisan" conduct as the chairman of the Upper House.

Dhankhar was known for his vocal stance on the Judiciary, particularly regarding the separation of powers. He was sharply critical of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, which aimed to replace the collegium system for appointing judges to the Supreme Court and high courts.

In a remark made in the presence of then Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Dhankhar questioned the legitimacy of the court overturning a law that had been passed by both Houses of Parliament with near-unanimous support.

Election for Vice-President

Dhankhar's resignation not only vacated the Vice President’s office but also the post of Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, as the Vice President serves as the ex-officio Chairman of the Upper House of the Parliament of India.

Article 64 of the Constitution mentions the Vice President serves as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and Article 63 says that the Vice President may resign his office by submitting his resignation to the President of India. The resignation becomes effective from the day it is accepted.

According to the Constitution of India, when the office of the Vice President becomes vacant, the duties of the Rajya Sabha Chairman do not remain unfulfilled. The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is constitutionally empowered to step in and perform the functions of the Chairman temporarily, under Article 91 of the Constitution.

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, who assumed office in August 2022, chaired the proceedings of the Monsoon session after Dhankhar resigned. He could act as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha until a new Vice President is elected and takes office.

In case a vacancy arises by reasons of death, resignation or removal or otherwise, the election to fill that vacancy is held as soon as possible after the occurrence of the vacancy.

Under Article 68(2), an election to fill a vacancy in the office of Vice-President occurring by reason of his death, resignation or removal, or otherwise is to be held as soon as possible after the occurrence of the vacancy.

The person elected to fill the vacancy is subject to the provisions of Article 67 and is entitled to hold office for the full term of five years from the date on which he/she enters upon the office.

The election is conducted by an electoral college consisting of members from both Houses of Parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, including nominated members.

The voting system used is proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote, ensuring that the elected Vice President commands broad support across political parties.

Once the new Vice President is elected and assumes office, they automatically become the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Radhakrishnan wins with more than anticipated votes

On September 9, NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan was elected the new Vice President of India after securing 452 votes in the high-stakes elections for the second highest constitutional post, more than the anticipated number.

The opposition candidate, former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, got 300 votes out of the total 767 votes that were cast in the election.

Returning officer and Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Mody announced that a total of 767 votes were cast in the election, of which 15 were declared invalid. He said that Radhakrishnan got 452 first preference votes, compared to Reddy's 300. The majority mark was 377.

According to the current strength of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Radhakrishnan was expected to get a minimum of 427 votes from the NDA MPs. With the support of Jagan Reddy's YSR Congress (11 MPs), he would have gotten 438. If votes of Independent and other neutral MPs were also counted, he should have secured 449 votes.

Meanwhile, Reddy was expected to get 315 votes since all INDIA bloc members participated in the elections.

However, the final tally shows that Radhakrishnan, the current governor of Maharashtra, bagged more votes than expected while Reddy fell short of the minimum expected number.

Even if all the 15 votes that were invalidated came from the opposition ranks, Radhakrishnan still secured a few more votes than expected, signalling cross-voting by opposition members.

With inputs from agencies