Electoral College (India)

Composition of the Electoral College

The Electoral College ( electoral college ) in India is the Indian Constitution defined institution that the Indian President chooses. In its function, the Indian Electoral College corresponds to the Electoral College in the United States and the Federal Assembly in Germany.

Composition of the Electoral College

The Electoral College is composed of all elected members of all Indian peoples' assemblies. These are in detail:

the 543 elected members of the Lok Sabha , the first chamber of the Indian Parliament ("People's Assembly"),
the 233 elected members of the Rajya Sabha , the second chamber of the Indian Parliament ("State Assembly"),
all 4120 MPs from all states and union territories who have an elected legislature (these are all 29 states and the two union territories Delhi and Puducherry )

In total, the Electoral College has 4896 members. A sophisticated voting weighting procedure ensures that the 776 MPs in the All-India Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) together have the same voting weight as the 4120 MPs from the states and Union territories.

Voting weight of the members of the Electoral College

Because MPs are each elected by a very different number of voters, they have different voting weights in the Electoral College . For example, in the 2014 parliamentary elections, 370,066 eligible voters in Sikkim were able to vote for one member of the Lok Sabha and 32 members of the regional parliament, while in Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana ) almost 65 million eligible voters elected 42 members for the Lok Sabha and 294 members for the regional parliament.

Voting weight of the members of the regional parliaments

The following applies to the voting weight of the members of the parliaments of the states and Union territories:

"Every elected member of the Legislative Assembly of a State shall have as many votes as there are multiples of one thousand in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the State by the total number of the elected members of the Assembly."

"Each elected member of a parliament of a state should have as many votes as results from the quotient of the population and the total number of MPs elected to the regional parliament and divided by a thousand."

- Indian Constitution : Article 55 (a): Manner of election of President.

Using a concrete example (Andhra Pradesh, 294 members of the parliament of Andhra Pradesh, population in 1971: 43.5 million), the following results for the voting weight of a member of the regional parliament:

${\ displaystyle {\ textrm {Voting weight}} = {\ cfrac {\ mbox {Total population of Andhra Pradesh}} {{\ mbox {Number of members of the Parliament of Andhra Pradesh}} \ times {1000}}} = { \ cfrac {\ mbox {43.5 million}} {{\ mbox {294}} \ times {1000}}} \ approx 147 {,} 97}$

The decimal places are rounded in the usual way. In this example the voting weight is 148.

In detail, the members of the parliaments of the states and Union territories have the voting weights listed in the following table (as of 2017).

No.	State or Union Territory	Number of elected representatives in the respective parliament	Population according to the 1971 census	Voting weight of a single MP	Voting power of all deputies of the State or Union territory , taken together,
1.	Andhra Pradesh	175	27,800,586	159	159 × 175 = 27,825
2.	Arunachal Pradesh	60	467.511	8th	008 × 060 = 480 000
3.	Assam	126	14,625,152	116	116 × 126 = 14,616
4th	Bihar	243	42.126.236	173	173 × 243 = 42,039
5.	Chhattisgarh	90	11,637,494	129	129 × 090 = 11,610
6th	Goa	40	795.120	20th	020 × 040 = 800 000
7th	Gujarat	182	26,697,475	147	147 × 182 = 26,754
8th.	Haryana	90	10,036,808	112	112 × 090 = 10,080
9.	Himachal Pradesh	68	3,460,434	51	051 × 068 = 03,468
10.	Jammu and Kashmir	87	6,300,000	72	072 × 087 = 06,264
11.	Jharkhand	81	14.227.133	176	176 × 081 = 14,256
12.	Karnataka	224	29,299,014	131	131 × 224 = 26,334
13.	Kerala	140	21,347,375	152	152 × 140 = 21,280
14th	Madhya Pradesh	230	30.016.625	131	131 × 230 = 30,130
15th	Maharashtra	288	50.412.235	175	175 × 288 = 50,400
16.	Manipur	60	1,072,753	18th	018 × 060 = 01,080
17th	Meghalaya	60	1,011,699	17th	017 × 060 = 01,020
18th	Mizoram	40	332,390	8th	008 × 040 = 320 000
19th	Nagaland	60	516,499	9	009 × 060 = 540 000
20th	Odisha	147	21,944,615	149	149 × 147 = 21,903
21st	Punjab	117	13,551,060	116	116 × 117 = 13,572
22nd	Rajasthan	200	25.765.806	129	129 × 200 = 25,800
23.	Sikkim	32	209.843	7th	007 × 032 = 224 000
24.	Tamil Nadu	234	41.199.168	176	176 × 234 = 41,184
25th	Telangana	119	15,702,122	132	119 × 132 = 15,704
26th	Tripura	60	1,556,342	26th	026 × 060 = 01,560
27.	Uttarakhand	70	4,491,239	64	064 × 070 = 04,480
28.	Uttar Pradesh	403	83.849.905	208	208 × 403 = 83,824
29	West Bengal	294	44.312.011	151	151 × 294 = 44,394
30th	Delhi	70	4,065,698	58	058 × 070 = 04,060
31.	Pondicherry	30th	471,707	16	016 × 030 = 480 000
total		4.120	549.302.005		549,495

Remarks:

↑ ^a ^b Some states did not exist in 1971 or had different borders than today. The population figures have been converted accordingly to today's limits.

Voting weight of the deputies of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

The total voting weight of all 4,120 state and Union Territory MPs is 549,474. The voting weight of the total of 776 members of the all-Indian parliament (Lok Sabha 543 + Rajya Sabha 233) is calculated in such a way that all 776 members together have exactly the same voting weight as the members of the states and union territories.

“Each elected member of either House of Parliament shall have such number of votes as may be obtained by dividing the total number of votes assigned to the members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States [...] by the total number of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament, fractions exceeding one-half being counted as one and other fractions being disregarded. "

“Each elected member of one of the two houses of parliament should have as many votes as one receives if the total number of votes of the representatives from the parliaments of the states is divided by the total number of members of both houses of the parliament, with decimal places from 0.5 rounded up and otherwise rounded down. "

- Indian Constitution : Article 55 (c): Manner of election of President.

The following applies to the voting weight of a delegate from Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha: Rounded off, this results in a voting weight of 708 for each delegate from Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. The 776 MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have a total voting weight of 776 × 708 = 549,408, which roughly corresponds to the total voting weight of the MPs from the states and Union territories.

${\ displaystyle {\ textrm {Voting weight}} = {\ cfrac {\ mbox {Voting weight of all representatives of the states}} {\ mbox {Number of representatives from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha}}} = {\ cfrac {\ mbox {549,495 }} {\ mbox {776}}} \ approx 708 {,} 11}$

Unchanged tuning weights since 1976

The voting weights were last set for the individual states by the 42nd amendment of the constitution (Amendment) from 1976 and have not changed since then. The 1971 census was used as a reference point. Although population growth has developed very differently since then, the voting weights have not been adjusted according to the new censuses. This was done with the express intention of creating an incentive to control population growth. States with rapidly increasing populations should not benefit from a greater political weight. Minor changes only resulted from the fact that since 1976 new federal states came into being (Goa, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh) and union territories received a parliament (Delhi). With the 70th Amendment to the Constitution in 1992, members of legislative assemblies in Union territories (specifically Delhi and Pondicherry) were given the right to vote in the Electoral College. Previously, this was reserved for state MPs only. The 84th amendment to the constitution in 2002 stipulated that the voting weights should remain unchanged until at least 2026. The allocation of constituencies to individual states was based on similar principles (see Delimitation Commission of India ).

Practical implementation of the presidential election by the Electoral College

Electoral College members usually vote in either Delhi (this is usually the case for members of the Indian Parliament) or at designated locations in their home states (this is usually the case for members of the state and Union territories parliaments).

A candidate is considered elected if he has received more than half of the total votes cast (this is currently a maximum of - if all elected MPs cast their vote - 1,098,882).

The election takes place according to the voting system Instant Runoff Voting , ie the voters can mark the candidates according to their preferences on the voting slip, for example, if there are 5 candidates, mark them with the numbers 1 to 5, corresponding to the first to fifth preference. When counting votes, the first preference votes are counted. If no candidate achieves an absolute majority here, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is removed from all ballot papers and all subordinate candidates move up one level. Then the first preference votes are counted again. This process is repeated until a candidate has a majority of the first preference votes. This electoral process means that theoretically a candidate can also be successful who is not in first position if only the first preference votes are taken into account.

Web links

Constitution of India , the Indian Constitution on the Government of India website

Election to the Office of the President 2017 (pdf, detailed explanation of the electoral process based on the 2017 election, English), Indian Election Commission 2017

Individual evidence

↑ In Switzerland, too, the United Federal Assembly elects the Federal President. However, in contrast to the institution of the same name in Germany, the Swiss Federal Assembly is not an organ that is limited to the election of the Federal President, but has a variety of other functions. In addition, the Federal President of Switzerland does not have the status of a head of state.

↑ The Lok Sabha has two members who are not elected but appointed by the president ( Anglo-Indians ), the Rajya Sabha has 12 unelected members. These are not eligible to vote in Electoral College .

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Election to the Office of the President 2012. (pdf) Indian Election Commission, 2012, accessed on February 18, 2015 (English, detailed explanation of the election process based on the 2012 election).

↑ The representatives of the Union Territories originally had no voting rights. This was changed by the 70th constitutional amendment from 1992, so that since then MPs from elected legislatures of the Union territories have also had full voting rights. See: THE CONSTITUTION (SEVENTIETH AMENDMENT) ACT, 1992. Retrieved April 14, 2015 .

↑ Archive of General Election 2014> Statewise numbers of electors. Indian Election Commission, accessed December 19, 2014 .

↑ ^a ^b Constituion of India. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 23, 2015 ; Retrieved on February 19, 2015 (PART V: THE UNION CHAPTER I. THE EXECUTIVE, The President and Vice-President, Article 55). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.

↑ ELECTION TO THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT OF INDIA 2017. (PDF) Election Commission of India, accessed on June 14, 2017 (English).

↑ THE CONSTITUTION (SEVENTIETH AMENDMENT) ACT, 1992. August 12, 1992, accessed on February 28, 2015 (English).

↑ THE CONSTITUTION (EIGHTY FOURTH AMENDMENT) ACT, 2002. November 8, 2000, accessed on February 18, 2015 (English).

[Anm1-8] Some states did not exist in 1971 or had different borders than today. The population figures have been converted accordingly to today's limits.

[1] In Switzerland, too, the United Federal Assembly elects the Federal President. However, in contrast to the institution of the same name in Germany, the Swiss Federal Assembly is not an organ that is limited to the election of the Federal President, but has a variety of other functions. In addition, the Federal President of Switzerland does not have the status of a head of state.

[2] The Lok Sabha has two members who are not elected but appointed by the president ( Anglo-Indians ), the Rajya Sabha has 12 unelected members. These are not eligible to vote in Electoral College .

[wahlkommission-3] Election to the Office of the President 2012. (pdf) Indian Election Commission, 2012, accessed on February 18, 2015 (English, detailed explanation of the election process based on the 2012 election).

[4] The representatives of the Union Territories originally had no voting rights. This was changed by the 70th constitutional amendment from 1992, so that since then MPs from elected legislatures of the Union territories have also had full voting rights. See: THE CONSTITUTION (SEVENTIETH AMENDMENT) ACT, 1992. Retrieved April 14, 2015 .

[5] Archive of General Election 2014> Statewise numbers of electors. Indian Election Commission, accessed December 19, 2014 .

[Verfassung-6] Constituion of India. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 23, 2015 ; Retrieved on February 19, 2015 (PART V: THE UNION CHAPTER I. THE EXECUTIVE, The President and Vice-President, Article 55). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[7] ELECTION TO THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT OF INDIA 2017. (PDF) Election Commission of India, accessed on June 14, 2017 (English).

[9] THE CONSTITUTION (SEVENTIETH AMENDMENT) ACT, 1992. August 12, 1992, accessed on February 28, 2015 (English).

[10] THE CONSTITUTION (EIGHTY FOURTH AMENDMENT) ACT, 2002. November 8, 2000, accessed on February 18, 2015 (English).