The Vice-President (Indian Polity and Governance)

Total Questions: 22

1. The Vice-President of India is elected by the members of an electoral college comprising - [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2012]

Correct Answer: (b) All the members of both the Houses of Parliament.
Solution:According to Article 66(1), The Vice-President is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both the Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
  • The office of the Vice-President is the second-highest constitutional office after the President. It ranks second in the order of precedence and first in the line of succession to the presidency.
  • The VP is also the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In this capacity, his powers and functions are similar to those of Loksabha's speaker.
  • It serves a term of five years and is eligible for re-election.
  • The VP may resign by submitting his resignation to the President of India.
  • If the President is unable to discharge their duties due to absence, illness, or any other cause, the Vice-President assumes the role of Acting President.
    ∗ This arrangement continues until a new President is elected,                   which must occur within six months if the vacancy arises due                   to  the President's death, resignation, or removal.
    ∗  During this period, the VP ceases to perform the functions of                   Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

2. The Vice-President of India is elected by: [Uttarakhand P.C.S. (Pre) 2007]

Correct Answer: (c) The members of both the Houses of Parliament
Solution:According to Article 66(1), The Vice-President is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both the Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
  • The office of the Vice-President is the second-highest constitutional office after the President. It ranks second in the order of precedence and first in the line of succession to the presidency.
  • The VP is also the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In this capacity, his powers and functions are similar to those of Loksabha's speaker.
  • It serves a term of five years and is eligible for re-election.
  • The VP may resign by submitting his resignation to the President of India.
  • If the President is unable to discharge their duties due to absence, illness, or any other cause, the Vice-President assumes the role of Acting President.
    ∗ This arrangement continues until a new President is elected,                   which must occur within six months if the vacancy arises due                   to  the President's death, resignation, or removal.
    ∗  During this period, the VP ceases to perform the functions of                   Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

3. How is Vice-President of India elected? [M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2002]

Correct Answer: (d) Through election by the MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
Solution:The Vice-President is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) of Parliament [ Article 66(1) ].

The Vice-President, like the president, is elected not directly by the people but indirectly.

  • He is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both houses of Parliament. Thus, this electoral college is different from the electoral college for the election of the President in the following two respects:
  • It consists of both elected and nominated members of the Parliament (in the case of the President, only elected members).
  • It does not include the members of the state legislative assemblies (in the case of the President, the elected members of the state legislative assemblies are included).
  • Vice-President's election, like that of the President's election, is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, and the voting is by secret ballot.
  • All doubts and disputes concerning the election of the Vice-President are inquired into and decided by the Supreme Court, whose decision is final.

4. Who among the following elected the Vice-President of India? [U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2012]

Selected the correct answer from the code given below:

1. Members of Lok Sabha
2. Members of Rajya Sabha
3. Members of Legislative Assemblies
4. Members of Legislative Councils

The Vice-President is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) of Parliament [ Article 66(1) ].

Correct Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
Solution:
  • The office of the Vice-President is the second-highest constitutional office after the President. It ranks second in the order of precedence and first in the line of succession to the presidency.
  • The VP is also the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In this capacity, his powers and functions are similar to those of Loksabha's speaker.
  • It serves a term of five years and is eligible for re-election.
  • The VP may resign by submitting his resignation to the President of India.
  • If the President is unable to discharge their duties due to absence, illness, or any other cause, the Vice-President assumes the role of Acting President.
    ∗ This arrangement continues until a new President is elected,                   which must occur within six months if the vacancy arises due                   to  the President's death, resignation, or removal.
    ∗  During this period, the VP ceases to perform the functions of                   Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

5. Electoral College for the 16th Vice Presidential Election of India for 2022 consists of how many members? [67th B.P.S.C. (Pre) (Re-Exam) 2022]

Correct Answer: (b) 788
Solution:As per Article 66 of the Constitution of India, the Vice- President is elected by the members of an electoral college. The Electoral College consists of Elected members of the Rajya Sabha, Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha and Elected members of the Lok Sabha. Members included in the Electoral College for the 16th Vice-President Election:
-233 elected members of Rajya Sabha
-12 nominated members of Rajya Sabha
-543 elected members of the Lok Sabha
-The total number of members included in the electoral college formed by combining both the houses were 788.

6. Consider the following statements. Which of these statements is/are correct? [U.P. R.O/A.R.O. (Mains) 201]

1. Like the election of the President, the election of Vice-President is indirect.

2. The Member of the State Legislatures play an important role in the election of the both.

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

Correct Answer: (a) 1 only
Solution:According to Article 54, the president shall be elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States. According to Article 66, the Vice-President shall be elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of Proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot. Thus the President and Vice-President's election is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, and the voting is done by secret ballot, so statement 1 is correct while statement 2 is incorrect. This, option (a) is correct.

7. Given below are two statements, Assertion (A) and Reason (R). [U.P. U.D.A./L.D.A. (Spl) (Pre) 2010]

Assertion (A): In order to be eligible for election as Vice-President, a person must be qualified for election as a member of the Upper House.

Reason (R): Vice-President is chairperson of Rajya Sabha.

Which of the following is correct in regard to the above statements.

Correct Answer: (a) Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is an acceptable explanation of (A).
Solution:Article 66(3) of the Constitution describes that a person is eligible for election as Vice-President if he is citizen of India, completed the age of 35 years and is qualified for election as a member of the Council of States and Article 64 provides that Vice-President is ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States and shall not hold any other office of profit.

8. Consider the following statements about Vice-President of India. [Chhattisgarh P.C.S. (Pre) 2023]

1. He is an ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

2. He is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament.

Which of the Statement/s given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: (b) 2 Only
Solution:According to the Article 64 (Indian Constitution), the Vice- President is the ex-officio chairman of the council of states (Rajya Sabha) Hence Statement 1 is correct.
According to Article 66(1), the Vice-president is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both the houses of parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
Hence statement 2 is correct.
So, option (c) is correct answer.

9. Who is the Chairman of Rajya Sabha? [45th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2001]

Correct Answer: (b) The Vice-President
Solution:Rajya Sabha is presided over by the Vice-President, but he is not a member of the Upper House.
  • The office of the Vice-President is the second-highest constitutional office after the President. It ranks second in the order of precedence and first in the line of succession to the presidency.
  • The VP is also the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In this capacity, his powers and functions are similar to those of Loksabha's speaker.
  • It serves a term of five years and is eligible for re-election.
  • The VP may resign by submitting his resignation to the President of India.
  • If the President is unable to discharge their duties due to absence, illness, or any other cause, the Vice-President assumes the role of Acting President.
    ∗ This arrangement continues until a new President is elected,                   which must occur within six months if the vacancy arises due                   to  the President's death, resignation, or removal.
    ∗  During this period, the VP ceases to perform the functions of                   Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

10. Who is the Ex-Officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha? [63rd B. P.S.C. (Pre) 2017]

Correct Answer: (b) The Vice President
Solution:Rajya Sabha is presided over by the Vice-President, but he is not a member of the Upper House.
  • The office of the Vice-President is the second-highest constitutional office after the President. It ranks second in the order of precedence and first in the line of succession to the presidency.
  • The VP is also the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. In this capacity, his powers and functions are similar to those of Loksabha's speaker.
  • It serves a term of five years and is eligible for re-election.
  • The VP may resign by submitting his resignation to the President of India.
  • If the President is unable to discharge their duties due to absence, illness, or any other cause, the Vice-President assumes the role of Acting President.
    ∗ This arrangement continues until a new President is elected,                   which must occur within six months if the vacancy arises due                   to  the President's death, resignation, or removal.
    ∗  During this period, the VP ceases to perform the functions of                   Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.