Instructions To Election For The Office Of The President Of India
The requirement of a President for India is mentioned in the Indian constitution's Article 52. At first, the electoral college for the election of the Indian President consisted of elected members from the state legislatures and both the houses of the parliament, including Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. In 1992, as per the 70th Amendment Act, the electoral college would also start having members from the legislative assembly of Puducherry and Delhi. The office of the President of India is the true representative of the nation, but he does not rule the country. The real power lies with the cabinet of ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
Basic Powers Of The President
The President has the union's executive power. The parliamentary government system chooses the President as the constitutional head. He is considered to be the first citizen of the nation as well as the state head. The Armed forces of India recognize the President as their Commander-in-chief. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first President of independent India who acted on the advice of the cabinet ministers answerable to the parliament. Since then, there have been thirteen elected Presidents of India. But the President is just the acting head as the real power lies in the hands of the Prime Minister.
Now let's dive to see how the office of the President of India has filled by-election. A few steps are followed to complete the Presidential elections, and we shall look into each of them in detail.
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Nominations For The Presidential Elections
Each person considering taking a chance in the Presidential elections should file their nominations within a stipulated time. They should submit a signed document containing 50 seconders and 50 proposers. The candidate must deposit security money of Rs. 15000. The seconders and proposers can be from the eligible electors who can vote in the election for choosing the president for that particular year. An elector is supposed to second or propose only one person's name. The rule was adopted so that unnecessary people could be stopped from filing their nominations who could not get elected as the president.
Voting For Choosing The President
On a fixed date, ballot papers are provided to all the members of parliament and the members of state legislative assemblies in the respective union territories and states. The only instrument they will have to record their votes will be a special pen provided by the election committee. All the names of candidates contesting for the position of President will have their names on the ballot paper. Electors need to mark one beside the name of first preference and similarly mark 2 for second preference, which continues in the same way.
There is no need for marking all the preferences as the first preference is the one that is mandatory and gets counted. You should only mark figures 1, 2, and so on, on the ballot paper in Indian numerals or Roman form. Violation of the above rules in any way can make it an invalid ballot paper. The same figure cannot be marked for two candidates at the same time. You are not supposed to write the preferences in words but only in figures with the pen provided.
Separation Of The Ballot Papers
The Returning officer will start counting votes coming from valid ballot papers from a fixed date onwards. State-wise, all the ballot papers will be taken up, and based on the first preference on each paper, it will be transferred to that particular candidate's tray having his/ her name. In this way, both the MLAs' and MPs' votes are counted and transferred to the candidate's tray. After this comes an integral part of the system of election for the president position.
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Counting Of The Votes For Each Candidate
The summation of all the values of the ballot papers in which a candidate gets the first choice becomes the total number of votes that the particular participant secures. Depending on who has given the vote, the value of each ballot will be determined. The value for a Sikkim MLA ballot paper will be 7, while that of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh will be 159 and 208, respectively. The full list of the value of votes of each State MLA can be checked over the Internet. 708 is the value of the vote cast by any member of parliament, be it Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha. The addition of all these values will give the total amount of votes secured by each contesting candidate.
Declaration Of The Winner Who Finally Becomes The President
After the entire system of election for president comes to an end, choosing the winner is the final step. The candidate getting the maximum number of votes than a particular quota is the winner and not securing the maximum number of votes. The summation of the votes polled for each candidate is divided by two, and adding 1 to its quotient determines the quota. The winner is the one who has received more polled votes than this quota. The candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated in case no one crosses that quota.
The ballot papers of the candidate eliminated are effectively distributed amongst the other candidates based on the second preferences of the electors. The counting process for finding out the total number of votes for each candidate is repeated to see if anyone crosses the quota. The process must continue unless a candidate's vote crosses the quota or until only one person is left after constant eliminations. The standing candidate, in either case, is declared the winner of the election.
Oath Taking Ceremony- The Final Step
The Indian system of election for president is a pretty interesting procedure that finally comes to an end with the oath-taking ceremony. The previous President can only give up his office when someone else is ready to take that position. That is when the new president takes his oath. But in case no other person comes up to take the position due to adverse circumstances, then the former president will continue to be in his office. The oath to be taken by the new President is administered by the Chief Justice of India, after which he can move into his office.
Did You Know?
The President holds his office for five years, but they are eligible for re-election.
The Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha is appointed as the Returning officer using rotation.
With only a one-time security deposit of Rs. 15000, a person can file for four nomination papers maximum.
FAQs on Office Of The President Of India
1. What are some things that electors should keep in mind while casting their votes for Presidential elections?
A column known as "mark the order of preference" is placed opposite the name of the candidates. Figure 2 should be placed only once opposite to only one candidate in that column. No preference should be repeated. Otherwise, the ballot paper will be declared invalid. The preferences should not be written in words but only figures of 1,2,3 and so on. The figures can be written in Roman form, standard international form of Indian numbers, or in any Indian language. A pen will be provided along with the ballot paper officially for voting. The elector needs to make sure to use only that pen and no other pen. Otherwise, violation of any of the above points can result in an invalid ballot paper.
2. To contest for the office of the President of India, what are the major qualifications required?
In case a person wants to contest for the Presidential elections, then he or she needs to fulfill certain criteria falling under Article 58 of the Indian constitution. The person must have completed 35 years of life and should be a mandatory Indian citizen. He or she cannot hold any profitable office under the Indian Government or State Government. The office of profit cannot even be held locally or under any other authority controlled by the State or Central Government. The candidate must be eligible enough to be a member of parliament, precisely the Lok Sabha. Any candidate holding the position of Governor of State, Vice President, or Ministers of State or Union can contest for the elections.
3. Who conducts the Presidential elections, and who is responsible for electing the President during what time?
The Electoral Commission of India is the one responsible for the course of Presidential elections. The system of representation in proportion through single transferable votes is followed for electing the President utilizing a secret ballot. The Electoral College responsible for electing the President consists of elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies and members from both the houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, of the Parliament. It also consists of elected representatives from the Union territory of Puducherry and the NCT of Delhi. Within a time of at least sixty days before the expiry of the office of the outgoing President, the Election Commission can release the notice on Presidential elections.
