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Electoral College (India)

Electorate for the president of India


Summary

Electorate for the president of India

The President of India is indirectly elected with Instant-runoff voting by means of an electoral college consisting of the elected members of the Parliament of India and the legislative assemblies of the states and union territories of India. The number and value of votes are based on the population in 1971 rather than the current population, as a result of the 42nd Amendment, and extended by the 84th Amendment, with the intention to encourage family planning programs in the states by ensuring that states are not penalised for lowering their population growth and development.

The Vice-President is elected by a different electoral college, consisting of members (elected as well as nominated) of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Composition

The presidential electoral college is made up of the following:

  • elected members of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Parliament of India);
  • elected members of the Lok Sabha (lower house of the Parliament of India);
  • elected members of each state's Legislative Assembly (lower house of the state legislature);
  • elected members of legislative assembly of Union Territories of Jammu-Kashmir, Delhi and Puducherry

Weighing of votes

The value of votes cast by elected members of the state legislative assemblies and both houses of parliament are determined by the provisions of article 55(2) of the Constitution of India. The details of number of voters and votes for the presidential election are given below. As per the 84th Amendment, the 1971 census is used, and will continue to be used until 2026.

The formula for determining the number of votes held by an MLA is:

\mbox{Value of an MLA vote} = \cfrac {\mbox{Total population of the state or union territory}} {\mbox{Total number of elected members of the State Legislative Assembly} \times {1000}}

That is, the average constituency size, determined by the 1971 census, in the state or union territory, divided by 1,000.

The number of votes for MLAs are as follows:

Name of the State/Union TerritoryNumber of State Legislative Assembly seats (elective)Population (1971 Census)Value of the vote of each MLATotal value of votes for the State/Union Territory
Andhra Pradesh17527,800,58615927,825
Arunachal Pradesh60467,5118480
Assam12614,625,15211614,616
Bihar24342,126,23617342,039
Chhattisgarh9011,637,49412911,610
Delhi704,065,698584,060
Goa40795,12020800
Gujarat18226,697,47514726,754
Haryana9010,036,80811210,080
Himachal Pradesh683,460,434513,468
Jammu and Kashmir9045,11,341504,500
Jharkhand8114,227,13317614,256
Karnataka22429,299,01413129,344
Kerala14021,347,37515221,280
Madhya Pradesh23030,016,62513130,130
Maharashtra28850,412,23517550,400
Manipur601,072,753181,080
Meghalaya601,011,699171,020
Mizoram40332,3908320
Nagaland60516,4999540
Odisha14721,944,61514921,903
Puducherry30471,70716480
Punjab11713,551,06011613,572
Rajasthan20025,765,80612925,800
Sikkim32209,8437224
Tamil Nadu23441,199,16817641,184
Telangana11915,702,12213215,708
Tripura601,556,342261,560
Uttar Pradesh40383,849,90520883,824
Uttarakhand704,491,239644,480
West Bengal29444,312,01115144,394
Total4,123547,513,396547,731

Note:- http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/ElectoralLaws/HandBooks/President_Election_08062017.pdf.

The value of an MP's vote is calculated by dividing the total value of all MLAs' votes by the number of MPs. The formula for determining the number of votes held by an MP is:

\mbox{Value of an MP vote} = \cfrac {\mbox{The sum of vote value of elected members of all the State Legislative Assemblies}} {\mbox{The sum of elected members of both the houses of Parliament}}

That is, the total Members of Parliament (Elected) = Lok Sabha (543) + Rajya Sabha (233) = 776 : :Value of each MP vote = 547,731 / 776 = 706 (to the nearest integer) :Total value of votes of MPs = 776 × 706 = 547,856

The number of votes for MPs are as follows:

Total number of votes for presidential electors are as follows:

ElectorTotal number of electorsTotal value of votes
Members of Legislative Assemblies (elected)4,123547,731
Members of Parliament (elected)776547,856
Total48991,095,587

References

References

  1. The Constitution of 1950 use the term [[Single transferable vote]], which is now used for a system with multiple-member constituencies. When there is only one of the latter, the system is now called [[Instant-runoff voting]]
  2. [http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend84.htm 84th Amendment]
  3. "'J&K not included in electoral college for Presidential election'".
  4. "'FAQ - Who elects the President of India?'".
  5. "Section 55 of the Constitution of India".
  6. [http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/President_VP_Elec2012/election%20to%20the%20office%20of%20President%202012.pdf Election to the Office of President, 2012]
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