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Indian Polity / Union Executive

How is the President of India Elected?

The election process of the President of India is somewhat complicated as he is elected indirectly by the MPs and MLAs through a method called proportional representation by means of single transferable vote. Proportional representation is nothing but a kind of voting system where the parties will receive their seats based on the number of votes that are cast in their favor.



Electoral College

  • The President of India is elected by the members of an Electoral College. The electoral college consists of the elected members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and all the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of different states of India and the Union territories of Puducherry, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir.

  • Nominated members are not eligible to participate in the Presidential elections.

  • The nomination of the Presidential candidate should be proposed by at least 50 members of the electoral college, that is either MLAs or MPs and it should be supported by another 50 members.

  • The Presidential candidate has to make a deposit amount of Rs. 15,000 in RBI. This deposit is necessary in order to discourage to non-serious candidates.

  • Election Commission of India conducts the Presidential elections. The returning officer will be Secretaries General of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha by rotation.

Value of MLA and MP Vote in Presidential Election

The vote value of electors (i.e. MLAs and MPs) in the Presidential election is not equal to 1 as in the case of general elections. The vote value of MLAs in one state will be different from another state. But the vote value of each MP is same. The vote values of MLAs and MPs are calculated as follows:


  • Value of vote of an MLA = Total population of State or Union Territory / (Total number of elected MLAs in that State or UT x 1000)

    Note: For all elections as well as the number of vacancies, the base year of population is 1971. This will not be changed till 2026.

  • Total numbers of MLAs in India is equal to 4120. Their total value of votes is 5,49,495.

  • Value of vote of an MP = Total value of votes of MLAs / Total elected number of MPs (both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) = 549495/(543 + 233) = 708

  • Total value of votes of MPs (both LS and RS) = 708 x 773 = 5,49,408

  • Total value of votes of 4896 electors (4120 MLAs + 543 LS MPs + 233 RS MPs) = 5,49,495 + 5,49,408 = 10,98,903

So, in order to get elected as the President of India, the candidate needs to secure more than 50 percent valid votes polled, i.e. if all the electors participate in the election and all the votes polled are valid, then the candidate shall need to secure 5,49,452 value of votes.



Single Transferable Vote

In Single Transferable Voting system, each voter ranks the candidates in the order of his preference. For example, he places '1' beside his most preferred candidate, '2' beside his second most preferred, and so on.

While counting, the first preference votes are calculated initially and if no one gets the Quota votes, the candidate having the least support (who got the least number of first preference votes) will be eliminated first and the second preference votes polled on these ballots will be transferred as the corresponding first preference votes for the other remaining candidates. This process will continue until the candidates achieve the Quota votes.

Quota votes = [ Total valid votes polled / (Number of seats to be filled + 1) ] + 1

In case of the President, the Quota votes should be more than 50 percent valid votes polled as the "Number of seats to be filled" is 1 that is the President.


Quiz

  1. Which of the following members are eligible to participate in the election of the President of India?

    1. Nominated members of Legislative Councils

    2. Elected members of Legislative Assemblies

    3. Nominated members of Rajya Sabha

    4. Elected members of Legislative Councils

    Answer

    Ans: B


  2. Who acts as the returning officer for the election of the President of India?

    1. Cabinet Secretary

    2. Lok Sabha Speaker

    3. Rajya Sabha Vice-Chairman

    4. Secretaries General of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha by rotation

    Answer

    Ans: D