The President of India is elected indirectly, by an electoral college of elected MPs and MLAs, using proportional representation by single transferable vote and a secret ballot. The rules are in Articles 54 and 55 of the Constitution. Here is the whole process in order.
Step 1: The electoral college is fixed
The electors are the elected members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and the elected members of every state legislative assembly, plus the assemblies of Delhi and Puducherry. Nominated members and members of legislative councils have no vote. See who votes in the Rashtrapati election for the full list.
Step 2: Every vote gets a value
Votes are not equal. Each one is weighted so that states are represented by population, and so that Parliament and the states together carry equal weight.
Value of one MLA's vote = state population (1971 census) ÷ number of elected MLAs ÷ 1,000
Value of one MP's vote = total value of all MLA votes in the country ÷ number of elected MPs
| 2022 election | Figure |
|---|---|
| Elected MPs | 776 (543 Lok Sabha + 233 Rajya Sabha) |
| Elected MLAs | 4,033 |
| Value of each MP's vote | 700 |
| Highest MLA vote value | 208 (Uttar Pradesh) |
| Lowest MLA vote value | 7 (Sikkim) |
| Total value of the electoral college | 10,86,431 |
The 1971 census is still used so that states which controlled population growth are not penalised. The MP value fell from 708 to 700 in 2022 because Jammu and Kashmir had no assembly at the time; the 2027 figure will be recalculated on the assemblies in place then.
Step 3: Notification and nominations
- The Election Commission issues the notification within the last 60 days of the outgoing President's term.
- A candidate must be an Indian citizen, at least 35 years old, qualified to be a Lok Sabha member, and must not hold an office of profit.
- Each nomination needs 50 electors as proposers and 50 as seconders, and a security deposit of ₹15,000.
- The Returning Officer — the Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, by rotation — scrutinises the papers.
Step 4: Polling
- MPs normally vote in Parliament House, MLAs in their state assembly building.
- The ballot is secret. MPs get green ballot papers and MLAs pink ones.
- Voters mark preferences — 1, 2, 3 — against candidates' names, using only the pen supplied by the Commission. A ballot without a first preference is invalid.
- Parties cannot issue a whip, and the anti-defection law does not apply to this vote.
Step 5: Counting and the quota
A candidate does not win by simply getting the most votes. They must cross a quota:
Quota = (total value of valid votes ÷ 2) + 1
- First-preference votes are counted by value. If a candidate crosses the quota, they are declared elected.
- If nobody does, the candidate with the lowest value is eliminated and their ballots are transferred to the second preferences marked on them.
- This repeats until one candidate crosses the quota.
In practice every election so far has been settled on first preferences, apart from 1969, when second preferences were needed for V. V. Giri's win.
Step 6: Declaration, oath and disputes
The Returning Officer declares the result and the Commission notifies it. The President-elect is sworn in by the Chief Justice of India on the day after the outgoing term ends. Any dispute about the election goes only to the Supreme Court, under Article 71.
Next election
This process will run again in June–July 2027 — see Rashtrapati election kab hai for the expected dates.
Frequently asked questions
Is the President of India elected directly by the people?
No. The President is elected indirectly by an electoral college of elected MPs and MLAs.
What voting system is used in the Presidential election?
Proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, with a secret ballot.
What was the value of an MP's vote in 2022?
700. An MLA's vote ranged from 7 in Sikkim to 208 in Uttar Pradesh.
How many proposers does a Presidential candidate need?
At least 50 electors as proposers and 50 as seconders, with a deposit of ₹15,000.
Sources: Constitution of India (Articles 54, 55, 58, 62, 71), the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, and Election Commission of India data for the 2022 election.