Value of votes in presidential election
Also called: Article 55 · Topic: Union Executive: President, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Council of Ministers · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 5 "Universal Franchise and India's Electoral System"
Meaning
Under Art. 55, votes in the presidential election carry different weights, so that each state counts according to its population and the states and the Union count equally overall. An MLA's vote value = (state's 1971 population ÷ number of elected MLAs) ÷ 1,000. An MP's vote value = total value of all MLAs' votes ÷ number of elected MPs. The 84th Amendment (2001) froze the 1971 population as the base until the first census after 2026.
Example
In 2022, a UP MLA's vote was worth 208 and a Sikkim MLA's only 7. An MP's vote was worth 700. It had been 708 in 2017, and it fell because Jammu and Kashmir had no assembly in 2022.
Don't confuse with
- Vice-President's election: only MPs vote, including nominated MPs, and every vote has equal value. MLAs take no part.
Related concepts
- Election of the President
- Qualifications of the President
- Impeachment of the President
- Presidential election disputes
- Immunity of the President and Governors