Jagdeep Dhankhar resigns as Vice President. What's next? Who chairs Rajya Sabha now? When will India elect a new VP?

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned on July 21, opening the contest for his successor. 

But before a new Vice President is elected, who will chair the proceedings in Rajya Sabha in the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament?

Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha will step in as the acting Chairperson of the Upper House of Parliament, as per the rules. Harivansh Narayan Singh is the Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha at present. Harivansh will fulfil the role temporarily until the election of the next Vice President 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, as per Article 91 of the Constitution.

Articles 63 to 71 of the Constitution and the Vice-President (Election) Rules, 1974, govern the vice president's election process. According to the rules, a formal election must be held within 60 days of Dhankhar's resignation and before September 19, 2025. 

The electorate or the electoral college comprises all members of both Houses of Parliament, using a proportional representation system via single transferable vote. The MPs will cast a single transferable vote with a secret ballot. 

At present, the electoral college has 788 MPs- 588 in Lok Sabha and 245 in Rajya Sabha.

The Election Commission will announce the date of polls. A Returning Officer is appointed to oversee the process. 

The ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has a majority in the electorate, which includes the members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Therefore, it is likely to consider the probable names in the coming days.

Dhankhar's resignation comes as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in the process of electing its new national president, replacing JP Nadda. The saffron party may get a new president after August 15, according to some reports. 

Dhankhar's predecessor was M Venkaiah Naidu, a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president who was in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet when the party tapped him for the key constitutional position in 2017.

"We are still processing it. But I believe the party will choose someone who is a solid choice and is non-controversial," a BJP leader said, suggesting that a veteran party hand might be the preferred option, told news agency PTI.

Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, a Janata Dal (United) MP, is also being seen as a probable as he has been serving in the position since 2020 and enjoys the government's trust.

Dhankhar's three-year tenure was marked by his frequent run-ins with opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha but his voluble commentary, often on contentious issues, left the government less than amused at times.

Dhankhar's abrupt resignation followed a day of surprising developments in the Rajya Sabha for the government, as an opposition-sponsored notice for a motion to remove Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma was submitted to him and he mentioned it in the House.

The development came as a jolt to the ruling alliance, which had sponsored a similar notice in the Lok Sabha and taken the opposition on board.

Dhankhar was the NDA's candidate in the election for the vice president, who is also the ex-officio Chair of the Rajya Sabha, in 2022.

(With agency inputs)