Page 209 - Leap of Faith Vol - 2

Electing the President and Vice President Chapter 8

Vice-Presidential Election Rules, 1952. The subordinate The President and Vice President are elected by two
legislation has since then been superseded by different electoral colleges through secret ballot. The one
Presidential and Vice-Presidential Election Rules, 1974. that elects the President – under Article 54 of the
Constitution– comprises a) elected members of both
The Vice-Presidential election proved simple. Only two
nomination papers had been filed. On April 25, 1952, Houses of Parliament and b) elected members of the
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan - the distinguished scholar of Indian Legislative Assemblies of the states. The value of votes of
philosophy and former ambassador to the USSR - was each member of the electoral college is not the same. This is
declared winner without a contest after the nomination evidently because the members therein do not represent
paper of Janab Sheikh Khadir Hussein was rejected under their own franchise. The Members of Legislative
rule 4 (2) Presidential and Vice Presidential Election Assemblies represent the population strength of their
Rules, 1952. respective states. For calculating the value of votes, the
Constitution (Eighty Fourth) Amendment Act, 2001
On May 2, 1952, the polling in the first Presidential elections
provides that in this article the expression “population”
took place. All elected members of the House of People (Lok
Sabha) and the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) as well as all shall mean the population as ascertained at the 1971
Census until the relevant population figures for the first
elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of different
census to be taken after the year 2026 have been published.
states cast their votes to elect the first President of India.
The polling took place in Room No.63, Parliament House in The Vice Presidential election is simpler by comparison.
New Delhi, and Legislative Assembly buildings in respective Under Article 66 (1) of the Constitution, the Vice President
state capitals. The ballot papers, however, were all counted is elected by the members of an electoral college
in the Parliament building on May 6, 1952. comprising members of both Houses of Parliament
Dr. Rajendra Prasad who secured 5,07,400 votes was (including the nominated members) in accordance with
declared winner. He defeated his nearest rival K.T. Shah, the system of proportional representation by means of
who secured 92,827 votes, by more than four lakh votes. single transferrable vote by a secret ballot. A person who
is not a sitting Member of Parliament is not a part of the
electoral college to elect the Vice President of India.
“ - Dr. Rajendra Prasad “ Committee dated July 4, 1947. Approved by the
It thus comes about that, while the Parliament and
The methods of electing the President and Vice President
Legislative Assemblies are elected by the adult population
were first proposed in the Report of Union Constitution
of the country as a whole, the President is elected by
representatives who represent the entire population twice
Constituent Assembly later that month, they were
over, once as representatives of the States and again as
incorporated into the Constitution of India with some
their representatives in Central Parliament of the country.
But although the President is elected by same electorate as
alterations. They were not arbitrary but reflected an
underlying constitutional philosophy. It epitomised a wider
Central and State Legislature, it is as well that his position
is that of a constitutional President.
reorganisation of forces within the Constituent Assembly.
The Committee unambiguously resolved the opinion
President, Constituent Assembly, November 26, 1949
divide in the Constituent Assembly over the form of

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