Murmu vs Sinha: MPs, MLAs to vote on Monday to elect 15th President

Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs will vote on Monday (July 18) to elect the 15th President of India, with NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu having a clear edge over Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha as over 60% of votes are expected to be cast in her favour.

The polling will take place in Parliament House and state legislative assemblies for which ballot boxes have already reached their destinations.

Also read: Why BJP picked ‘kisan putra’ Jagdeep Dhankar for Vice-President

The counting of votes will take place at Parliament House on July 21 and the next President will take oath on July 25. President Ram Nath Kovind’s term ends on July 24.

With the support of regional parties such as BJD, YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK, TDP, JD(S), Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and now JMM, Murmu’s vote share is likely to reach nearly two-thirds and she is set to become the first woman from the tribal community to occupy the top constitutional post.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee now has over 6.67 lakh votes after the support of various regional parties, out of a total of 10,86,431 votes.

The electoral college which elects the president through the system of proportional representation comprises elected MPs and members of state legislative assemblies. Nominated MPs and MLAs, and members of legislative councils are not entitled to vote in this election.

The value of the vote of a member of Parliament has gone down to 700 from 708 in this presidential poll due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.

Also read: Presidential polls: UP MLAs have maximum votes; Sikkim lowest

In states, the value of the vote of each MLA varies in different states.

In Uttar Pradesh, the value of the vote of each MLA stands at 208, followed by 176 in Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu. In Maharashtra, it is 175. In Sikkim, the value of vote per MLA is seven, while it is nine in Nagaland and eight in Mizoram.

“The value of votes of the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies and both Houses of Parliament is governed by Article 55(2) of the Constitution. The total value of votes for MLAs for the 16th Presidential Election is 543231. The total value of votes for MPs is 543200. The total value of vote of electors for the Presidential Election, 2022 is 1086431,” the Election Commission of India (EC) said.

Before naming Sinha, a former Union minister, and a BJP leader, the Opposition camp had approached Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and a former governor of West Bengal, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah to contest the poll.

After their refusal to be part of the electoral battle, Sinha, then the Trinamool Congress vice president, was named as the Opposition’s candidate.

Also read: Majority of Sena MPs back Droupadi Murmu for presidential polls

The election of the President is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.

In accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote, every elector can mark as many preferences, as there are candidates contesting the election.

These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1,2,3, 4, 5, and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference, in the space provided in column 2 of the ballot paper.

This is the reason why electronic voting machines are not used in this as well as vice presidential, Rajya Sabha, and legislative council polls. The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregator of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

According to Election Commission’s directions, while MPs will get a green-coloured ballot paper, the MLAs will get a pink ballot paper to cast vote. Separate colours help the returning officer ascertain the value of vote of each MLA and MP.

Seeking to maintain secrecy of voting, the EC has issued a specially designed pen with violet ink to enable voters mark their ballot papers in the presidential poll.

According to the Election Commission, political parties cannot issue any whip to their MPs and MLAs in the matter of voting in the Presidential election.