VICE PRESIDENTIAL POLLS: HISTORY AND SIGNIFICANCE

Vice Presidential elections show how strong ruling coalitions are, how united the opposition is, and why the role matters in India's democracy.

- Ruchira Talapatra

India has held regular elections for Vice President whenever the fiveyear term expired or the office became vacant.

The Vice President of India is the second-highest constitutional office and first in line of succession to the President. By constitutional design, the Vice President serves as the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of Parliament). Unlike the presidential election, the Vice President is elected indirectly by an electoral college of Parliament members only, using a secret ballot and the single-transferable-vote system. This process ensures that the contest reflects the balance of power among political parties in Parliament. Studying Vice Presidential elections - most of which are uncontested, but notably some contested ones - illuminates shifts in parliamentary alliances and political currents. For example, in 1967 the election was contested between V. V. Giri and Mohammad Habib (483 vs. 193 votes); in 2002 BJP's Bhairon Singh Shekhawat defeated Congress's Sushil Shinde (454 vs. 305); and the more recent 2017 and 2022 elections again pitted ruling-NDA nominees (Naidu, Dhankhar) against opposition candidates (G. Gandhi, M. Alva). Venkaiah Naidu won in 2017 with -68% (516 vs. 244 votes), and in 2022 Jagdeep Dhankhar won with -74% (528 vs. 182 votes). These contests and their media coverage - highlight how the composition of Parliament and party coalitions have evolved over time.

CANDIDATES AND OUTCOMES

1952 (May 12): Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (Independent, former Speaker and scholar) was the sole valid candidate after the nomination of Janab Shaik Khadir Hussain was rejected. Radhakrishnan was declared elected unopposed. He became India's first Vice President, serving 1952-1957.