Office and Election of the President

🏛️ The Union Executive — Overview

Our Constitution, in Articles 52 to 78 (Part V), talks about the Union Executive — that is, the machinery that runs the Government of India at the central level.

Now, who are the members of this Union Executive?

👉 President,
👉 Vice-President,
👉 Prime Minister,
👉 Council of Ministers, and
👉 Attorney General of India.

So, just like a company has a CMD, Board of Directors, and CEO — the Union Executive is the political executive at the national level.

And at the top of this structure stands the President — the head of the Indian State, the first citizen of India, and the symbol of unity, integrity, and solidarity of the nation.

🇮🇳 The President — Election Process

Now, a very interesting question arises —
How is the President elected?

Let’s understand this carefully.

Indirect Election

The President of India is not elected directly by the people.
Instead, an Electoral College elects the President.

And who are the members of this Electoral College?

1. Elected members of both Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha + Rajya Sabha)
2. Elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States
3. Elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry

Who is NOT part of the Electoral College?

• Nominated members of Parliament or State Assemblies ❌
• Members of Legislative Councils (whether elected or nominated) ❌
• Nominated members of Puducherry Assembly ❌
• (Note: Delhi has no nominated members at all.)

So, only elected representatives participate — this gives the election both democratic legitimacy (through people’s representatives) and federal character (because states are also represented).

The 104th Amendment (2019)

Earlier, Anglo-Indians could be nominated to Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
But the 104th Constitutional Amendment (effective 25 January 2020) ended this nomination system.

Hence, now Anglo-Indians no longer have any special representation, and therefore, they also do not participate in the Presidential election.

What if an Assembly is Dissolved?

If a State Legislative Assembly is dissolved before the Presidential election,
its members lose their right to vote — even if fresh elections have not yet been held.
So, only existing, active Assemblies count.

⚖️ Principle of Uniformity and Parity

Now, this is a beautiful constitutional balance.

The Constitution ensures two things in the election of the President:

1. Uniformity among the States — each state’s MLAs should have equal weight within that state.
2. Parity between the Union and the States — both together should have balanced influence in electing the President.

To achieve this, the value of each vote is calculated mathematically.

Value of Vote of an MLA

Each elected MLA of a State has a vote value based on the population of that State and the number of elected MLAs in that State.

Formula:

(Only multiples of 1000 are taken.)

For example, if the population is large, each MLA represents more people — hence their vote carries higher value.

Value of Vote of an MP

Now, after determining total value of all MLA votes (from all states),
we distribute an equal share among the elected MPs of Parliament.

Formula:

Thus, MPs as a group have the same total voting power as all MLAs combined — ensuring Union-State parity.

🗳️ The Voting System — Proportional Representation by Single Transferable Vote

Now, this phrase sounds complex, but let’s try to simplify it.

The Presidential election is conducted through:

• Proportional Representation
• By means of the Single Transferable Vote, and
• Voting is done by Secret Ballot

Let’s understand what each term means:

Proportional Representation (PR)

In simple terms, PR means — the winner should get broad support, not just simple majority.

But technically speaking, in PR, more than one seat is filled — e.g., Rajya Sabha elections.

So, in case of President (only one seat), PR is not truly applicable — it’s more like a preferential or alternative vote system.
Even the Constituent Assembly members had pointed this out!

Single Transferable Vote (STV)

Each voter gets one ballot paper and writes 1, 2, 3, 4… to indicate preferences among candidates.

• 1 = first preference
• 2 = second preference, and so on.

Now, the first preference votes are counted first.

If any candidate gets the required quota, they are elected.

Otherwise, the candidate with the least first preference votes is eliminated, and their second preference votes are transferred to the remaining candidates.

This process continues till one candidate reaches the quota.

How is the Quota Calculated?

Formula:

Since only one candidate is to be elected (President):

That means the winner must get more than 50% of the total valid votes — ensuring a clear majority.

Secret Ballot

Voting is done in complete secrecy — even political parties cannot issue a whip.
Every voter (MP or MLA) is free to vote according to conscience.

⚖️ Disputes in Presidential Election

Any doubt or dispute related to the election of the President is decided only by the Supreme Court.
Its decision is final and binding.

Also, note:
Even if some vacancies exist in the Electoral College (say, a few MLAs’ seats are vacant), the election remains valid — it cannot be challenged on that ground.

If the Supreme Court later declares the President’s election void,
then all acts done by the President till that date remain valid — to maintain administrative continuity.

💭 Why Indirect Election?

This was debated deeply in the Constituent Assembly.

Some members said, “Why not direct election by the people? That’s more democratic!”

But our Constitution-makers rejected that idea for following key reasons:

1. Compatibility with Parliamentary System

India follows a Parliamentary System — where the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers exercise real power, and the President is only a nominal or constitutional head.

If the President were elected directly by the people, it would create a moral conflict —
because someone elected by the entire country should have real powers, but our system doesn’t allow that.

Hence, indirect election maintains harmony with the parliamentary model.

2. Practical Reasons

Conducting a nationwide direct election for a largely ceremonial post would be too costly and time-consuming, given India’s huge population. It wasn’t worth the administrative effort.

3. Federal Balance

Some members suggested — only Parliament should elect the President.
But that would make the President a representative of the Union, not the States.

To ensure federal balance, both Parliament and State Assemblies participate —
making the President a true representative of the whole nation.

🧩 Final Note — Terminology Issue

A small but insightful observation:
The terms “proportional representation” and “single transferable vote” are not technically accurate here.

• Since only one seat is filled, it’s not proportional representation.
• And since each voter has multiple preference votes, it’s not a single transferable vote either.

Still, these terms are retained in the Constitution, largely due to convention.