Presidential Election

The President of India, officially the President of the Republic of India, is the ceremonial head of state of India and the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Article 54 mentions that there shall be an election for the President of India.

Article 58 of the constitution sets the qualifications one must meet to be eligible to the office of the president. A president must be:

· a citizen of India

· of 35 years of age or above

· qualified to become a member of the Lok Sabha

· should not hold any office of profit under the central government, state government, or any public authority

The President of India is indirectly elected by an electoral college consists of

· the elected members of both houses of parliament,

· the elected members of the Legislative assemblies of the states and

· the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir.

As of 2021, the electoral college comprises 776 MPs and 4,120 MLAs. The system assigns varying numbers of votes to these electoral college members, such that the total weight of MPs and those of MLAs is roughly equal and that the voting power of states and territories are proportional to their population. Overall the members of the electoral college were eligible to cast 1,098,903 votes, yielding a threshold for a majority of 549,452 votes.

The nomination of a candidate for election to the office of the President must be subscribed by at least 50 electors as proposers and 50 electors as seconders. The election is held by means of a secret ballot under the single transferable vote system. Each candidate has to make a security deposit of ₹15,000 in the Reserve Bank of India. The security deposit is liable to be forfeited in case the candidate fails to secure one-sixth of the votes polled.

The manner of election of President is provided by Article 55 of the Constitution.

The returning officer for the election is the Secretary General of Lok Sabha.

· Term of Office of President of India - Once elected, the president holds the office for a period of five years.

· Oath by - Chief Justice of India

· Resignation to - Vice President of India

· Re-election - A person is eligible for re-election to the office of President.

· Disputes Regarding the Election of President are challenged in - Supreme Court of India

· Immunities Enjoyed by President - The President of India can never be arrested or imprisoned. The President of India enjoys personal immunity from legal liability for his official acts.

· Impeachment - Can be done only on the grounds of violation of the constitution.

• Upto 2022, Eighteen people have been elected as the President of India since India became a republic in 1950, with 12 of them completing their full term of five years.

• Sh. Rajendra Prasad was the first president and the only one so far to be re-elected to the position.

• Sh. Rajendra Prasad, had the longest tenure of 12 years and 107 days. He was re-elected in the 1952 and 1957. Prior to becoming the President, Prasad was the President of the Constituent Assembly.

• Two Presidents, Sh. Zakir Husain and Sh. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, have died in office. While Sh. Zakir Husain died on May 3, 1969, Sh. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed died on February 11, 1977.

• Sh. Zakir Husain's Presidential tenure was the shortest in India's history.

• Vice President Sh. V. V. Giri was the first Acting President. He took the charge on 3^rd May 1969 after the death of Sh. Zakir Husain. But, he resigned in less than three months to contest the Presidential election.

• Sh. Hidayatullah was the second Acting President in 1969 for 35 days. He took the charge on 20^th July 1969 after the resignation of Sh. V. V. Giri. Sh. Hidayatullah served till the Sh. V. V. Giri became the President on August 24, 1969.

• Sh. V. V. Giri was the first independent candidate to be elected as the President on 24^th August, 1969.

• Also Sh. Mohammad Hidayatullah was the first Chief Justice to work as Acting President in 1969. He took charge on 20^th July 1969.

• Sh. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy was elected as the President unopposed. He is the only President to be elected thus, after being unanimously supported by all political parties. He took charge on 25^th July 1977

• Sh. S. Radhakrishnan was the first Vice-President to become the President in 1962. He took charge on 13^th May 1962.

• Vice President Sh.B. D. Jatti was the third person to work as Acting President after the death of Sh. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed in February 1977. He worked as the Acting President for over five months.

• Sh. B. D. Jatti was the first Acting President who administered the oath of office and secrecy to Prime Minister Sh. Morarji Desai and his Council of Ministers.

• In the 1957 election, Sh. Rajendra Prasad secured 98.99 per cent votes - the highest ever.

• In 1969 presidential election, preferential voting system was witnessed first time.

• Sh. K. R. Naranayanan was the first Schedule Caste President of India. He took charge on 25^th July 1997.

• Sh. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was the first scientist to become President. He took charge on 25^th July 2002.

• Smt. Pratibha Patil became the first woman to be President. She took charge on 25^th July 2007

• Smt. Draupadi Murmu is the first Schedule Tribe president. She took charge on 25^th July 2002.