Our Republic of India had elections for our 16th President today. The present incumbent President of India Shri. Ram Nath Kovind’s tenure is going to end on July 24.
What is our form of Government?
The Constitution of India provides for Parliamentary form of Government both at the Centre and in the States.
Accordingly, President is only a nominal executive, while Prime Minister is the real executive. In other words, President is the head of the state and Prime Minister is the head of the government.
Who can become our President?
A person eligible for election of President should have the following qualifications.
- The person should be a citizen of India.
- He/ She should be above 35 years of age.
- He/ She should be qualified for election as a member of Lok Sabha.
- That person should not hold any Office of Profit either under Government of India or under State Government or local authority.
How to nominate a Presidential candidate?
At least 50 electors as proposers and 50 electors as seconders should subscribe a presidential candidate nominee.
He should make a security deposit of Rs.50000/-in the Reserve Bank of India. He would lose his security deposit, if he fails to secure 1/6th of the votes.
Who elect our President?
People of our country don’t elect our President directly. Instead, he is elected indirectly. The following members constitute his Electoral College:
- Elected members of both the houses of Parliament.
- Members of Legislative assemblies of the states who are elected.
- Elected members of Legislative assemblies of Union Territories of Delhi, Pondicherry and Jammu & Kashmir.
Nominated members of both the houses of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies don’t participate in the election. Also, Members of Legislative Councils (MLC) are not part of this election.
Where does our President get elected?
Polling for Presidential election takes place at Parliament and respective State Legislative assemblies from 10 AM- 5 PM.
What is the procedure for Presidential election?
Presidential election is in accordance with system of proportional representation. It occurs by means of single transferable vote. The voting is by secret ballot.
To get elected, a candidate should get a fixed quota of votes.
Electoral Quota = Total Number of Valid Votes Polled + 1
1 + 1 = (2)
Each member of Electoral College shall mark his preferences by ranking 1, 2, 3, against the candidates on the ballot paper.
Firstly, first preference votes of all electors are counted. A candidate is declared winner, if he secures the desired quota in the first round itself.
If not, ballots of candidates securing the least number of first preference votes are cancelled and his second preference votes are transferred to the first preference votes of other candidates.
This process continues till the candidate secures the required quota.
Who addresses the grievances regarding Presidential Election?
All doubts and disputes regarding Presidential election are inquired directly by the Supreme Court. It’s decision is final. The Election Commission of India has no role in Presidential election.
Why indirect election to the post of President of India?
Our constitution mandated indirect election for the post of President, due to following reasons:
- Our President is only a nominal executive. The real power lies with Council of Ministers headed by Prime Minister. It would be anomalous to have President directly elected by people and not give him any real power.
- Direct election would have been very costly. It is both time and energy consuming because of our huge population.
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