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- Top left: Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was the first and longest-serving vice president of India.
- Top right: V. V. Giri was the first vice president to serve as acting president upon demise of the president.
- Bottom left: Mohammad Hamid Ansari was the longest-serving vice president and only vice president to serve under two presidents.
- Bottom right: Jagdeep Dhankhar is the current vice president.
The vice president of India is the second highest constitutional office in the government of India after the president. In accordance with Article 63 of the Constitution of India, the vice president discharges the functions of the president when a contingency arises due to the resignation, removal, death, impeachment or the inability of the president to discharge their functions. They are also the ex officio chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.[1][2]
The vice president is elected by an electoral college consisting of all members of both houses of the Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote via a secret ballot conducted by the Election Commission of India. Once elected the vice president continues in office for a five-year term, but can continue in office irrespective of the expiry of the term, until a successor assumes office.[3] They can be removed by a resolution passed by an effective majority in the Rajya Sabha.[4] They are responsible for the protection of the rights and privileges of the members of the Council of States. They also decide whether a bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha is a financial bill.[1] There have been 14 vice presidents since the inception of the post in 1950. The first vice president of India, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, took oath at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 13 May 1952.[5] He later served as the president.[6] Following the death of Zakir Husain in 1969, Varahagiri Venkata Giri resigned from the post of vice president to contest the presidential election and got elected.[7] Out of 14 vice presidents, six of them later went on to become the president.[7] Krishan Kant has been the only one to die during his tenure.[8] M. Venkaiah Naidu[9] is the first vice president to be born after Independent India is formed.
On 11 August 2022, Jagdeep Dhankhar took office as the 14th vice president.[10]
- ^ a b "Powers and responsibilities of Vice President of India". News Nation. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- ^ Jha, Jitesh (8 August 2017). "Fact Box: Vice President of India". Dainik Jagran. Archived from the original on 5 December 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- ^ Relhan, Vibhor (5 August 2017). "Following the elections of the Vice President of India". PRS Legislative Research. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- ^ "The Upper House of Indian Parliament". Rajya Sabha. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- ^ "From Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan to Venkaiah Naidu: All the Vice Presidents of India". The Times of India. 5 August 2017. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- ^ Greenhouse, Linda (17 April 1975). "Radhakrishnan of India, Philosopher, Dead at 86". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Venkaiah Naidu vs Gopalkrishna Gandhi: 6 vice-presidents who went on to become presidents". India Today. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- ^ Jafri, Syed Amin (27 July 2002). "Krishan Kant is first vice-president to die in office". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
- ^ "Venkaiah Naidu sworn in as Vice-President". The Hindu. 11 August 2017. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
- ^ ANI (11 August 2022). "Jagdeep Dhankhar sworn in as 14th Vice President of India". ThePrint. Retrieved 23 August 2022.