Electoral College (India)

The President of India and Vice President of India are indirectly elected by means of an electoral college consisting of the Parliament of India and the Legislative assemblies of the States and the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry. The votes are based on the population in 1971 rather than the current population, as a result of the 42nd Amendment, and extended by the 84th Amendment,^[1] with the intention to encourage family planning programs in the states by ensuring that states are not penalized for lowering their population growth.

Composition

The electoral college is made up of the following:

• elected members of the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Parliament of India);
• elected members of the Lok Sabha (lower house of the Parliament of India);
• elected members of each state Legislative Assembly; and
• elected members of each uninon territory possessing an assembly (i.e., Delhi and Puducherry).

Weighting of votes

The value of votes cast by elected members of the state legislative assemblies and both houses of parliament are determined by the provisions of article 55(2) of the Constitution of India.^[2] The details of number of voters and votes for this presidential election are given below.^[3] Per the 84th Amendment, the 1971 census is used, and will continue to be used until 2026.^[1]

The formula for determining the number of votes held by an elector is

$\textrm{Value\;of\;an\;MLA\;vote} = \cfrac {\mbox{Total population of the state}} {\mbox{Total number of elected members} \times {1000}}$

That is, the average constituency size, determined by the 1971 census, in his or her state, divided by 1,000.

The number of votes for MLAs are as follows:

Sr. No.	Name of state or union territory	Number of Assembly seats (elective)	Population (1971 Census)[3]	Value of vote of each MLA	Total value of votes for the state or union territory
1.	Andhra Pradesh	294	43,502,708	148	43,512
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[4]	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	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
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

Total Members of Parliament (Elected) = Lok Sabha (543) + Rajya Sabha (233) = 776

The value of a MP's vote is calculated by dividing the total value of all MLAs' votes by the number of MPs.

Value of each vote = 549,474 / 776 = 708.09, rounded to 708

Total value of votes of Parliament = 776 × 708 = 549,408

Total number of electors = MLAs + MPs = 4,896

Total number of votes = 1,098,882

$\textrm{Value\;of\;an\;MP\;vote} = \cfrac {\mbox{The sum of vote value of elected members of all the Legislative Assemblies}} {\mbox{The sum of elected members of both the houses of Parliament}}$

References

1. 84th Amendment
2. Section 55 of the Constitution of India
3. Election to the Office of President, 2012
4. Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order