Bhubaneswar, Odisha : The Election Commission on Thursday issued a formal notification for the upcoming Vice-Presidential election, scheduled for September 9. With the notification now released, the nomination process has officially begun, and candidates have until August 21 to file their papers. Scrutiny will take place on August 22, and the deadline for withdrawal of nominations is set for August 25. Counting of votes and announcement of results will be held on the same day as polling — September 9.
As per constitutional provisions, the Vice-President is elected by an Electoral College comprising elected and nominated members of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The Electoral College for this election consists of 782 MPs, with the winning candidate needing at least 391 votes to secure victory. Currently, the Lok Sabha has one vacant seat, while the Rajya Sabha has five vacancies.
Given its majority in both Houses, the BJP-led NDA is widely expected to see its nominee win comfortably. However, in a significant political statement, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has declared it will not support the NDA-backed candidate in the Vice-Presidential race.
Speaking to the media, senior BJD leader Mahesh Sahu said, “Whoever the NDA nominates for the Vice-Presidential election, the BJD will not extend support to them.”
