The battle for the election of a new President of India is all set with the opposition announcing former Lok Sabha speaker Ms. Meira Kumar as its candidate. Earlier this week on Monday, ruling BJP had announced former Bihar governor Mr. Ram Nath Kovind as its candidate. The voting will take place on 17th July and the counting of votes will be take place on 20th July. This election, which will be the 15thPresidential election of India, is going to be one of the most keenly and closely contested elections in the recent past, although Mr. Kovind appears to have an upper hand right now. However, as we will see, this might not be as close as once witnessed in the history of presidential elections. So here are some bits of information about the Presidential elections and earlier incidents that we think you will find interesting:

1. Presidential Election in India
The battle for the electionof anewPresidentof Indiaisall setwiththe oppositionannouncingformer
Lok SabhaspeakerMs. Meira Kumaras its candidate.EarlierthisweekonMonday,rulingBJPhad
announcedformerBihargovernorMr. Ram NathKovindasits candidate.The votingwill take place on
17th Julyandthe countingof voteswill be take place on20th July.
Thiselection,whichwill be the 15thPresidential electionof India,isgoingtobe one of the most
keenlyandcloselycontestedelectionsinthe recentpast,althoughMr.Kovindappearstohave an upper
handright now.However,aswe will see,thismightnotbe asclose as once witnessedinthe historyof
presidential elections.
So here are some bitsof informationaboutthe Presidentialelectionsandearlierincidentsthat
we thinkyouwill findinteresting:
MLAs of differentstateshave differentvaluesoftheirvotes
Thisis somethingyoumustalreadybe knowing.Whenwe commoncitizensvote inanygeneral
or assemblyelections,ourindividual voteshave the value of one vote each,butitisnot the same when
MPs and MLAs vote in the Presidential elections.
The President iselectedthroughthe votesof all MPs(of both RajyaSabha andLok Sabha) and
MLAs (of all Statesand UTs of India),whoare jointlyknownasthe “Electoral College”andindividually
referredtoas “Electors”.While everyMPhasthe same value of hisor hervote (regardlessof size of his
parliamentaryconstituency)the value of the vote of anMLA dependsuponthe relative population
strengthandtotal numberof assemblyconstituenciesinthatstate.The followingformulaisusedto
calculate the value of vote of an MLA:
To give an idea,value of asingle vote of an MLA fromUttar Pradeshis208, whichis the highest,
while the value of asingle vote of anMLA fromSikkimis7, whichisthe lowestamongall India.The total
value of votesof all MLAs from all the Statesand UTs combined(4120 MLAs) comesout to be 549495.
The value of a single vote of everyMP(543 Lok SabhaMPs and 233 RajyaSabha MPs) comesout
to be 708, basedonthe followingformula:
Thus the maximumvalue of total votespolledin apresidential electionis[549495 + 708x(543+233)] =
1098903.

2. The population strength of different states has been fixed as per 1971 census
To ensure thatstatesperformingbetteratpopulationcontrol are not‘punished’,itwasdecided
to fix the 1971 censusdata inthe aforementionedformulatocalculate the value of vote of anMLA till
2026, eventhoughpopulationfigureshave changedconsiderablyovertime.
For example,if we take the 2011 censusdata, the value of vote of an Uttar PradeshMLA will
become 259 (currently208) while thatof a SikkimMLA will become 19(currently7).
Here is a table of 10 states,whichindicateshow strengthsof differentstatescouldchange if
2011 censusdata isusedinsteadof the populationrecordedinthe 1971 census.
Presidential election involves preferential voting system
Thisis anothercrucial difference betweenthe waywe commoncitizensvote inregularelections
and howour electedrepresentativesvote inthe presidentialelections.While we are supposedtovote
for onlyone candidate,electorsinapresidential electionare supposedtoindicate ‘preferences’against
one or more candidates.Yes,ourpresidential electionfollowsa“preferential votingsystem”.
Ever since the Presidentialelectionof 1997, we have seenonly2 candidatesfightingitoutfor
the apex post,hence the preferential votinghasnotbeenineffectoraction,butthe electorsare
supposedtomarktheirpreference –indigitsonly – againstthe namesof the candidates.Anyother
formof voting,saya tick mark or writing“one”inanylanguage will leadtoaninvalidvote.
In the upcomingelectionstoo,anelectorwill be supposedtowrite “1”againstthe name of Ram
NathKovindor MeiraKumar to registerhisorher vote.Writing“2” againstthe remainingcandidate is
not compulsory(andinthe currentcase,where justtwocandidatesare expected,itisnotevenneeded).

3. Accordingto the rules,markingonly“1” iscompulsoryevenif there are more thantwocandidatesinthe
fray.
Theoretically,if noone getsmore thanhalf of the total value of validvoteswithall the “1”
preferencescountedagainsttheirnames,the candidate whogotthe leastvalue of “1” preference is
eliminatedanditisseenasto whichcandidateswere marked“2” inthose ballotpapers(if markedso);
these valuesare thenaddedtothe restof the candidates,andthe sequence isrepeatedtill we have a
winner.
In one presidential election, there were 17 candidates in the final fray!
Althoughmostof us wouldrememberonly2candidates(ashasbeenhappeninginthe last20
years),there have beenelectionswithoveradozencandidatestoo.Yes,we are talkingaboutfinal listof
candidateswhowere listedtobe votedfor,notnominations/applicationsthatusuallyruninto scores
(andmost of themare rejectedafterevaluationof papers).
The record of maximumnumberof candidateswasmade inthe fourthpresidential electionof
1967, whenthere were atotal of 17 candidatesinthe fray.Outof these,9 candidatesfailedtogeteven
a single vote.Another4of themreceivedvoteswhosevalue waslessthan250 each,whichmeansthat
no MP votedforthemand there couldhave beena handful of MLAsvotingthem.
In the presidential electionof 1969, whichhad to be heldinjust2 yearsafterthe previousone
as PresidentZakirHusainpassedawaywhileinoffice,there were15candidatesagaininthe final fray,
out of which5 failedtopoll evenasingle vote.Ruleswere made tougherafterthiselectiontostopnon-
seriouscandidatesfromqualifyingforthe actual votingstage.
In 1974, it was mandatedthata candidate will qualifyforvotingstage onlyif he orshe isbacked
by 10 electorsasproposersandanother10 as backers.One electorwassupposedtopropose orback
onlyone candidate.Asa result,there were only2candidatesinthe 1974 presidentialelections.
Currently,thisnumberissetto50 electorseach,andwe will see whenitwasincreased.
In 1977 election, there was just one candidate, and thus he won unopposed
The onlyPresidentof IndiawhowaselectedwithoutvotingwasMr. NeelamSanjivaReddy,who
wonin 1977 whenthe JanataParty wasin powerandCongressinoppositionforthe firsttime thanksto
EmergencyimposedbyIndiraGandhi earlier.
The Presidentialelectiontookplace only3years afterthe previousone asthe thenPresidentof
IndiaFakhruddinAli Ahmedhadpassedawaywhile inoffice.
Congressdecidednottogive anyfightinthe Presidential election,possiblybecause of beinglow
on confidence afterlosingpowerforthe firsttime,anddeclaredsupportforthe JanataParty candidate.
As a result,Reddywaselectedunopposed.Thiswassecondtime he hadrunfor the office,earlierin
1969.

4. 1969 Presidential elections were the most closely fought ever
The 1969 presidentialelectionisthe onlyelectionof Indiainwhichwe witnessedthe
preferential votingsysteminaction.
RulingCongresswasunable todecide itscandidate ontime anditresultedintwoCongress
leadersdeclaringtheircandidaturesof theirown – the thenactingPresidentof IndiaV V Giri (whowas
made acting presidentdue todeathof Zakir Hussain) andNeelamSanjivaReddy.V V Giri hadto resign
fromhis postof acting Presidentof Indiaandthusthe thenChief Justice of India became the acting
Presidentforalittle overamonthtill the presidential electionswere over.
There wasa thirdcandidate too – Mr. C D Deshmukh,backedbysome oppositionpartieslike
SwatantraParty and JanSangh. A factionof CongressappealedtoSwatantraPartyand Jan Sangha
electorstocast their2nd preference votesinfavourof Mr.Reddy – a stepthat wasdenouncedbyIndira
Gandhi thusgivingan indirectsupporttoMr. Giri.
It isspeculatedthatmanyCongressmembersvotedforMr.Reddy,despite Indira’sreservations,
but Mr. Giri endedupwinningthe elections.The resultsweredecidedaftercounting2ndpreference
votes– the onlytime ithashappenedinthe historyof Indianpresidential elections.Reddyhadreceived
almost5 timesmore value of 2ndpreference votesthanGiri,buthe still lostbya narrow margin.
There is no option of NOTA in the elections
Apart fromaforementionedmajordifferences,aminordifference inthe waywe vote andour
electedrepresentativesvote inthe electionsisthe optionof choosingNOTA.While we getthe optionof
NOTA (None Of The Above),nosuchoptionisavailable forthe electorsinapresidential poll.
Nominated members of the house are not eligible to vote in Presidential elections
Yes,SachinTendulkarwill notbe votinginthe PresidentialElections2017.
Noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani also has been a candidate in one election
As we hadseenearlier,tokeepoutnon-seriouscandidates,itwasmandatedthata candidate
musthave the supportof at least20 electors(10 as proposersand10 as backers).Butthisprovedto be
lessinthe 1992 Presidential elections,whennotedlawyerRamJethmalanicouldqualify.Notthat
Jethmalani wasexactlya‘non-serious’candidate,butitdemonstratedthatawell-connectedandwell-
knownpersoncouldgetsupportof 20 electors.
Notjust Ram Jethmalani,apersonnamedKakaJoginderSinghalias“Dharti-Pakad”couldalso
qualifyforthe final roundinthe 1992 elections.Dharti Pakad,whoisnow no more,wasfamousfor
contestinghundredsof electionsandlosingthem.Itcanbe argued thathe fittedinthe categoryof ‘non-
serious’candidate.

5. Ram Jethmalani gotvotesworthtotal value of 2704, and evenDharti Pakadgot 1135 ina four
corneredfight.Bothlosttheirdepositsin anelectionthatwaswonbyDr. ShankarDayal Sharma by
defeatingMr.G G Swell.
Earlierin1987 presidential election,anotherpersonnamedMitihileshKumarhadqualifiedfor
the votingstage.He evendemandedtomake a pitchforhis candidacyonDoordarshanand All India
Radio,whichwasdenied.He hadreceived2223 votesinthe election.
MithileshKumartriedtocontest1992 presidentialelectiontoo,buthisnominationpaperswere
rejected.Asaresult,he wenttoSupreme Courtand somehow arguedthat everyone’snomination
papers,exceptthatof Dharti Pakad,shouldhave beenrejected.He demandedDharti Pakadtobe
declaredwinnerandthe newPresidentof India.Supreme Courtfoundhispetitionfrivolousand
dismissedit.
Takinglessonsfromthese developments,itwasdecidedtoincrease the numberof electors
from20 to 100 (50 as proposersand50 as backers) from1997 onward,and eversince then,we have not
seena thirdcandidate inthe votingstage.
Secret ballot system is used for Presidential elections
Till nowwe have seenhowpresidentialelectionsvotingsystemisdifferentfromours,butthisis
a similarity.Justlikeourvote issecret,the vote of an MLA or MP inPresidentialelectionsisalsosecret.
Thisis unlike othervoting –suchas duringlaw making– thathappensinlegislative houses,where the
MLAs or MPs are supposedtofollowthe partywhipandvote accordingly.
Anti-defectionlawdoesn’tapplyduring the Presidential elections
If an MLA or MP votesagainstthe partywhip,he loseshismembershipof the house,butsince
the presidential electionshappenthroughsecretballot,anti-defectionlaw isnotapplicable here.This
oftenresultsincrossvoting,andthusa party’ssupportcan not be takenfor grantedina presidential
election,forthe partymemberscanalwaysvote accordingtotheirindividualwisheswithouthavingto
face any consequences.
All MLAs or MPs have to use the same penduring the voting
Eventhoughanti-defectionlawdoesn’tapply,whatif apolitical partygivesaspecial colourpen
to itsmembersduringthe voting,sothattheyknow how many didnot vote accordingto partyline?
Theycouldguessthe numberof defectorsor‘traitors’and accordinglytryto zeroon the ‘culprits’.This
possibilityhasthe riskof a secretballotnolongerremainingsecret.
As ithappensduringthe countingof votesinassemblyorgeneral elections,the candidatesand
theirrepresentativesare allowedwhile countingof Presidential electionvotesison.The candidate and
representative maymake anote of thisspecial colourandcount the numberof votesas per partylines,
and conclude howmanyvotedagainstthe partyline,right?

6. AlthoughthissoundstooSherlockHolmeslevel,the ElectionCommissionof Indiahasfactored
insuch possibilitiesanddecidedthateveryonewill use the same penwithcommoninkcolouratevery
pollingstation(atParliamentorState assemblies).A violetinkwill be usedinthe upcomingelections,
and votesregisteredbyusinganyotherpenwill be declaredinvalid.
(sources:ElectionCommissionof Indiahandbook[pdf],FAQsbyECI[pdf],anda letterbyECI [pdf])