Smriti Irani takes additional charge of I&B Ministry

Narendra Singh Tomar has been handed over the charge of the Urban Development Ministry which was also held by Naidu.

Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani was on Tuesday given additional charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry after Venkaiah Naidu resigned from the post to contest for the Vice-President election as the NDA's candidate.

Union Minister of Mines Narendra Singh Tomar has been handed over the charge of the Urban Development Ministry which was also held by Naidu.

Naidu resigned as union minister on Monday night after he was named by the BJP as its vice presidential candidate against Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the opposition's nominee.

How is the Vice President of India elected?

The election process is similar to the one deployed in the presidential poll. The VP too is elected by the electoral college comprising members of the both houses of Parliament.

However, the only difference is that in the VP election the members of the state legislature are not part of the electoral college.

According to the Election Commission, the Electoral College for this year's election consists of the following members:

• From Rajya Sabha: 233 elected and 12 nominated members

• From Lok Sabha, 543 elected and 2 nominated.

• The total members in the Electoral College are 790

Vote value:

The value of each vote in the Vice-Presidential election is one. Ballot paper, containing names of the contesting candidate, is used for the election. The ballot paper doesn't contain any party symbol. It has two columns - one containing the name of the candidate and the second for marking the order of preference. The winning candidate has to get a required quota of votes, which is 50% of the total valid votes.

Eligibility:

• A VP candidate must be a citizen of India

• He or she should be above 35 years of age

• Should be qualified for election as member of Rajya Sabha

• No hold any office of profit under Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local government
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Vice President election schedule:

• Date of notification issued: July 4

• Last date for filing nomination: July 18

• Polling date: August 5

• Counting: August 5

OneIndia News