With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in need of support from friendly parties to win President polls, it has enough votes to ensure victory of the ruling dispensation’s candidate in the vice-presidential election.

In the upcoming Vice-President polls, only Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, including the nominated lawmakers, can vote. With no more bypolls and biennial elections expected ahead of the presidential and vice-presidential elections, the electoral roll for the vice-presidential poll stands at 775.

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The MPs in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are 543 and 232, respectively.

In the last round of biennial polls, the BJP has lost three seats and its strength has declined to 92 MPs in the Upper House on July 1. In the Lower House, where it enjoys a sweeping majority, the BJP has bagged both seats in the bypoll of Uttar Pradesh, taking its Lok Sabha tally to 303.

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Together, the BJP has 395 MPs, or votes, in the vice-presidential election, seven more than the victory mark of 388.

The Election Commission has notified the 2022 vice-presidential election, with polling on August 6. The incumbent M Venkaiah Naidu’s term ends on August 10. The new vice-president will take charge during the upcoming monsoon session and will preside over the Upper House as its chairperson.

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There is no concept of open voting in the election and showing the ballot to anyone under any circumstances in the case of presidential and vice-presidential elections is totally prohibited, the EC had cautioned, adding that the parties cannot issue a whip to its MPs in the matter of voting.

The nomination paper of a candidate has to be subscribed by at least 20 electors as proposers and by at least 20 other electors as seconders. An elector can subscribe to only one nomination paper of a candidate as either a proposer or a seconder.

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A candidate can file a maximum of four nomination papers. The security deposit for the election is Rs 15,000.

Unlike the presidential polls where the voting takes place at multiple locations as the elected MLAs, not the nominated members, also form part of the electoral college, in the vice-presidential election, the voting takes place in Parliament House.