Question

Justify the need for ‘Indirect Election’of the President.

Answer 1

The President of India is elected indirectly in accordance with proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. The President is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both the Houses of Parliament and elected members of the Assemblies of the States.
The value of the vote of an elected member of the Vidhan Sabha is worked out by adopting the following formula:

`"Total polpulation of the state"/"Elected members of the Vidhan sabha" xx 100`

The value of the elected Members of Parliament is worked out as per the formula:

`"Total votes of all the MLA's"/"Number of elected members of Parliament"`

With this arrangement, it has been ensured that the value of the vote of an M.L.A. is proportionate to the population he represents.
On the other hand, the voting power of all the elected members of the Parliament is made equal to the voting power of all the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies in the country so that the States should not have an upper hand in the election of the President.
The election of’the President is conducted on the basis of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. The ballot is secret. The candidate who secures votes more than or equal to the quota of votes is declared elected. If at the first court no candidate secures the required quota of votes the candidate securing the least number of votes is eliminated and his votes are transferred among other candidates. According to the second preference on the ballot papers of candidate who gave him first preference. The process of elimination and transfer of votes continues till such a candidates is found.