Electoral College: Here is how the next President of India will be elected

By Vicky

Updated: Thursday, May 11, 2017, 12:03 [IST]

The BJP is almost set to win the Presidential elections. Looking at the manner in which several parties have been coming forward to extend their support, it appears that the BJP will be able to elect its candidate as the next President of India. The BJP has almost finalised Jharkhand Governor, Draupadi Murmu as its candidate. The opposition on the other hand is considering the candidature of former West Bengal Governor, Gopal Krishna Gandhi.

Next President of India: BJP set to win, here is how the electoral college works

This week both the YSR Congress, AIADMK and the TRS have said that it would support the BJP's candidate for President. The President is elected by the electoral college. The college comprises 4,120 legislators, 776 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members, and 4,120 MLAs. The total vote value stands at 1,098,882.

Each MLA's vote carries a value proportionate to the population of the state as per 1971 Census.

No.	State/UT	MLAs	Population	Vote value	Total vote value
1	Andhra Pradesh	175	43,502,708	248	43400
2	Arunachal Pradesh	60	467,511	8	480
3	Assam	126	14,625,152	116	14,616
4	Bihar	243	42,126,236	173	42,039
5	Chhattisgarh	90	11,637,494	129	11,610
6	Delhi	70	4,065,698	58	4,060
7	Goa	40	795,120	20	800
8	Gujarat	182	26,697,475	147	26,754
9	Haryana	90	10,036,808	112	10,080
10	Himachal Pradesh	68	3,460,434	51	3468
11	Jammu and Kashmir	87	6,300,000	72	6,264
12	Jharkhand	81	14,227,133	176	14,256
13	Karnataka	224	29,299,014	131	29,344
14	Kerala	140	21,347,375	152	21,280
15	Madhya Pradesh	230	30,016,625	131	30,130
16	Maharashtra	288	50,412,235	175	50,400
17	Manipur	60	1,072,753	18	1,080
18	Meghalaya	60	1,011,699	17	1,020
19	Mizoram	40	332,390	8	320
20	Nagaland	60	516,499	9	540
21	Odisha	147	21,944,615	149	21,903
22	Puducherry	30	471,707	16	480
23	Punjab	117	13,551,060	116	13,572
24	Rajasthan	200	25,765,806	129	25,800
25	Sikkim	32	209,843	7	224
26	Tamil Nadu	234	41,199,168	176	41,184
27	Telangana	119	43,502,708	148	17612
28	Tripura	60	1,556,342	26	1,560
29	Uttar Pradesh	403	83,849,905	208	83,824
30	Uttarakhand	70	4,491,239	64	4,480
31	West Bengal	294	44,312,011	151	44,394
	Total	4,120	549,302,055		549,474

What the BJP needs?

The BJP and its allies have a vote value of 5.32 lakh in the electoral college. This is short by 17,500 of the half way mark. If the BJP gets the support of the BJD and the AIADMK, then the vote value would go up to 6,28,195. The vote value of 5,49,442 is enough to elect the President in the electoral college. The electoral college comprises 4,896 legislators. This includes the 776 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members and 4,120 MLAs. The nominated members and the MLCs are not eligible to vote.

The vote value of each LS and RS member is 708. The vote value of the MLA depends on the population of the state. The vote value of an MLA is equivalent to the population of the state divided by the number of elected legislators divided, yet again, by 1,000. In UP the vote value of an MLA is the highest. It is at 209. The lowest vote value is from Sikkim at 7.

Parliament	Seats	Vote Value	Total vote value
Lok Sabha	543	708	384,444
Rajya Sabha	233	708	164,964
Total	776	708	549,408

Combined	Total voters	Total vote value
Members of Legislative Assemblies (elected)	4120	549474
Members of Parliament (elected)	776	549408
Total	4896	1,098,882

Currently the BJP and its allies have a vote value of 5,31,954. The BJP would need 17,488 and it would depend on the BJD and AIADMK for the same. The vote value of 134 AIADMK MLAs is 23,584. The vote value of 50 AIADMK MPs is 35,400. The BJD MLAs have a vote value of 17,433 while its 28 MLAs have a vote value of 19,824.

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