EC announces election for President on July 18
NEW DELHI: The presidential election will be on July 18 and the results will be declared three days later on July 21, the Election Commission (EC) announced on Thursday, setting the stage for the next electoral battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies on one side, and the Opposition, including the Congress, its allies, and parties such as the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party on the other, although it isn’t clear at this stage if the latter will come together to support one candidate.
A formal notification will be issued on June 15 and the nominations have to be filed by June 29, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar and election commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey said at a press conference.
The last date for withdrawal of candidature is July 2.
President Ram Nath Kovind’s term ends on July 24 and, according to the Constitution, a new President has to be appointed before his term ends.
The names of Draupadi Murmu, the former governor of Jharkand, and Arif Mohammed Khan, the current governor of Kerala have done the rounds as possible NDA-nominees, while that of NCP chief Sharad Pawar has, as the Opposition’s candidate. To be sure, there is nothing to indicate that these will be the candidates -- or that the Opposition will back a single candidate.
The President is elected by an electoral college comprising 776 members of Parliament (members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha) and 4,033 members of the legislative assemblies, with a total of 4,809 votes being cast.
The combined value of votes of state legislators is 543,231 and that of MPs is 543,200, a total of 1,086,431. The numbers suggest that NDA, which has votes worth 525,706 (short of the required 543,216) will easily be able to ensure the election of its candidate -- albeit with the support of parties not aligned with the UPA, and not opposed to doing business with the BJP. In the past, bot the YSRCP and the Biju Janata Dal have supported the BJP in the passage of some laws.
Nominated MPs and members of the legislative council aren’t allowed to vote. Each elector is allowed a single transferable vote, and the voting is done by secret ballot. Since the anti-defection law is not applicable in the presidential election, electors are not required to vote along party lines.
“Political parties cannot issue a whip to their members,” Rajiv Kumar said. “The election can also be held invalid if there is evidence of inducement or bribery .” The commission will also provide a special pen that the electors will have to use to cast the vote. The secretary-general of the Rajya Sabha has been appointed as the returning officer for the election.
The voting will take place in the Parliament complex and the state legislative assemblies and Covid protocols will be followed in the conduct of the election.
The Congress and the other opposition parties are determined to field their own candidate against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance’s nominee in the coming presidential election, HT reported in April.
The election for the vice president is expected to take place in August.
In 2017, the Congress-led Opposition fielded former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar as its candidate. The ruling dispensation mustered 661,278 votes for Ram Nath Kovind while Kumar received 434,241 votes.
In recent decades, only APJ Abdul Kalam’s election as president saw near unanimity between the ruling side and a large section of the Opposition. Even then, the Left parties fielded former INA soldier Lakhmi Sehgal against Kalam.