Presidential Election 2022 to be held on July 18: Here's how President of India is elected

New Delhi: The polling to elect the next President of India will be held on July 18, the Election Commission announced on Thursday. The tenure of the current President Ram Nath Kovind will end on July 24 and his successor has to be elected before that. Unlike in the United States, the President in India is the nominal head of the country and thus, is elected indirectly by the voting of the parliamentarians. The Indian Presidential elections work on the concept of the electoral college, which means that all the representatives are chosen by the people of India to the respective public offices on state and national levels, and vote to elect the President.

How is the President of India elected?

The presidential polls are conducted by the Election Commission of India and are elected indirectly through the concept of the electoral college. The electoral college consists of parliamentary and state-level legislators. In this year's Presidential elections, approximately 4,900 lawmakers, including 776 parliamentarians, will elect the new President of India.

 The electoral college responsible for President’s elections comprises elected members of:

• Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
• Legislative Assemblies of the states (Legislative Councils have no role)
• Legislative Assemblies of the Union Territories

The presidential elections in India adhere to a system called proportional voting. This means the value of each vote by an MP or MLA is greater than 1. The value of every vote varies from state to state, depending on the respective population. There is a formula to calculate the vote value. The fixed value of each vote of a parliamentarian is 708. To find the value of each vote in any particular state, divide the population of the state by the number of MLAs in its assembly, then divide the quotient by 1000. Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state with the highest number of legislators, has the highest value of individual vote (208).