Revision summary
Articles 54 and 55 govern the President’s election, not a popular vote. The college is elected MPs plus elected MLAs of States, Delhi, and Puducherry. Nominated members and Legislative Councils do not vote. MLA and MP vote values balance State population and Union–State parity. The winner is found by secret single transferable vote and a majority quota.
Model answer
Introduction
The President is the elected head of the Union under Article 52, but the election is not a popular poll. Articles 54 and 55 set an electoral college of elected legislators, a population-weighted vote, and proportional representation by the single transferable vote. The method is meant to make the President a Union-and-State choice, not a Prime Minister’s nominee on paper only.
Body
Who elects: the electoral college
- Article 54 says the President is elected by an electoral college of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States.
- The Seventieth Amendment brought elected members of the Assemblies of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and Puducherry into the same college.
- Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha, and Assemblies do not vote; Legislative Councils do not vote.
- The Election Commission of India conducts the poll; voting is by secret ballot.
How votes are valued: Article 55
- To keep State and Union weight in balance, every elected MLA’s vote has a value equal to the State’s population (1971 Census, frozen by later amendments until a later census date) divided by the number of elected MLAs, then divided by 1,000, with a remainder rule.
- Every elected MP’s vote has a value equal to the total value of all MLA votes divided by the total number of elected MPs.
- Uniformity among States and parity between the Union and the States together are the two scales Article 55 names.
How the winner is found
- The system is proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
- Each elector marks preferences; a candidate must reach a quota of 50 per cent of valid votes plus one after transfers.
- Exhausted ballots drop out; the process continues until one candidate crosses the quota.
- Disputes go to the Supreme Court under Article 71.
Political reading
- The college makes a Prime Minister with a Lok Sabha majority powerful but not sole: State Assemblies can still swing a close contest.
- It is still an indirect, elite college, not adult franchise, which is why the office is republican and parliamentary, not presidential in the United States sense.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD MP[Elected MPs] --> COL[Electoral college Art 54] MLA[Elected MLAs including Delhi Puducherry] --> COL COL --> V[Vote values Art 55] V --> STV[Single transferable vote] STV --> P[President]
Conclusion
The President is elected by elected MPs and elected MLAs (including Delhi and Puducherry Assemblies) on a population-weighted vote under Articles 54 and 55. The ballot is secret, single transferable vote, and quota-based. Nominated members are out. The method balances Union and States without a nationwide popular poll.
Quick related
Students also ask
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The concept of “One nation one election” has its own prospects and limitations in India. Examine.
Next question in the 2022 paper (Q16). View answer →
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Do nominated Rajya Sabha members vote for the President?
No. Only elected members of the two Houses and elected MLAs (plus Delhi and Puducherry Assemblies) vote.
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Is the Prime Minister’s majority enough to elect any President?
It is usually decisive, but State Assembly vote-value can matter in a split field. The college is not the Lok Sabha alone.
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