How Is India's President Elected? It's Not a Direct Vote
You vote for your MP. You vote for your MLA.But have you ever voted directly for the President of India?
No. That's because the President is elected by elected MPs and MLAs, not directly by the people.
Let's understand how this works.
1. Who Elects the President?
According to Article 54 of the Constitution, the President is elected by an electoral college consisting of:- Elected members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
- Elected members of State Legislative Assemblies.
- Elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry.
2. Does Every Vote Have the Same Value?
No. This is one of the most interesting features of the Presidential election.An MLA's vote has a different value depending on the state. An MP's vote has the same value regardless of which state or House they belong to.
Example: In the 2022 Presidential election:
- One MLA's vote in Uttar Pradesh had a value of 208.
- One MLA's vote in Sikkim had a value of 7.
- One MP's vote had a value of 700.
Why? Because the value of an MLA's vote is calculated using the state's population and the number of elected MLAs. The population figures used are based on the 1971 Census until the relevant figures of the first census taken after 2026 are published.
3. How Is the Value of an MLA's Vote Calculated?
Let's take a simplified example.Imagine a state has a population of 10 lakh and 100 elected MLAs.
The calculation would be:
Population ÷ Number of elected MLAs = 10,00,000 ÷ 100 = 10,000
Now divide 10,000 by 1,000.
The value of each MLA's vote would be 10.
If the state had 200 elected MLAs instead, each MLA's vote would be worth 5, assuming the same population.
This shows why both population and the number of elected MLAs matter. The actual calculation follows the rounding rules specified in Article 55.
4. How Is the Value of an MP's Vote Calculated?
The Election Commission first adds up the total value of all votes assigned to elected MLAs across the states.It then divides that total by the number of elected MPs in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha combined.
For example, in the 2022 Presidential election:
- Total value of votes assigned to MLAs: 5,43,231
- Total number of elected MPs: 776
- Value of each MP's vote: 5,43,231 ÷ 776, rounded to the nearest whole number = 700
5. How Does the Actual Voting Work?
The election uses a system called the single transferable vote, with voting by secret ballot.Voters rank candidates in order of preference rather than simply selecting one candidate.
Let's take a hypothetical example with three candidates: A, B and C.
Imagine an MLA marks the ballot like this:
- Candidate A: First preference
- Candidate B: Second preference
- Candidate C: Third preference
This continues until a candidate gets more than half of the total value of valid votes.
Remember: Each elector casts one ballot, but that ballot carries a particular vote value. The number of votes represented by that ballot depends on whether the elector is an MLA or an MP.
Quick Facts
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who elects the President | An electoral college (Article 54) |
| Members of the electoral college | Elected MPs and elected MLAs (including Delhi and Puducherry) |
| Voting system | Single transferable vote, secret ballot (Article 55) |
| MP vote value (2022) | 700 |
| Highest MLA vote value (2022) | 208 (Uttar Pradesh) |
Test Yourself
1. Which Article deals with the election of the President of India?(A) Article 52 (B) Article 54 (C) Article 61 (D) Article 74
2. Who among these is NOT part of the electoral college for the President?
(A) Elected Lok Sabha members (B) Elected Rajya Sabha members (C) Elected MLAs of Puducherry (D) Nominated Rajya Sabha members
Answers:
1. (B) Article 54.
2. (D) Nominated Rajya Sabha members.
You don't vote for the President directly.1. (B) Article 54.
2. (D) Nominated Rajya Sabha members.
But the people you elect do, and not every vote carries the same weight.
