Presidential election in India 1962

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1962)

The presidential election in India in 1962 was the third election of the state president in India since independence and took place on May 7, 1962. The non-party Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was elected by a large majority .

prehistory

Voting weight of the representatives from the states

State	Voting weight
Andhra Pradesh	104
Assam	84
Bihar	122
Gujarat	106
Jammu and Kashmir	59
Kerala	108
Madhya Pradesh	91
Madras	146
Maharashtra	121
Mysore	93
Orissa	105
Punjab	105
Rajasthan	91
Uttar Pradesh	147
West Bengal	104

In view of the expiring term of office of the incumbent Rajendra Prasad on May 12, 1962 , the Congress Party decided in advance of the upcoming election on the previous Vice President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan as a candidate. Radhakrishnan was non-party, but had participated in the Indian independence movement and was a well-known and respected religious philosopher and scientist beyond the borders of India. The only two other candidates who were also eligible for election were Punjab lawyer Hari Ram, who had run in 1952 and 1957 , and Yamuna Prasad Trisulia.

Election mode and choice

See also : Electoral College (India)

The electoral college was composed of the elected MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha , as well as MPs from the 15 states. The MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha each had a voting weight of 493, while the voting weight of the MPs from the states ranged between 52 ( Jammu and Kashmir ) and 147 ( Uttar Pradesh ). The voting weights were based on the 1951 census, as the results of the 1961 census had not yet been officially published. The voting weights had shifted compared to the previous election in 1957, since the state of Bombay had been dissolved in 1960 and the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra had been re-established.

The election dates were announced on April 6, 1962. Candidates could be nominated until April 16, 1962. On April 18, a decision was made about the admission of the candidates and until April 21, the candidates had the opportunity to withdraw their candidacy. The actual election took place on May 7, 1962. The votes were counted on May 11, 1962 in Delhi.

A total of 3,094 MPs cast their votes, which corresponds to a voter turnout of 81.4%. Radnakrishnan won the election with more than 98% of the valid weighted votes. His two competitors ended up far behind.

The result was the following:

candidate	Given weighted votes	In percent
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan	553.067	98.25
Hari Ram	6,341	1.12
Yamuna Prasad Trisulia	3,537	0.63
total	562.945	100

98 votes with a total voting weight of 18,295 were declared invalid.

On May 13, 1962, Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan took office as the second president in the history of India.

Web links

• Election to the Office of the President 2012. (PDF) Indian Election Commission, 2012, accessed on March 27, 2015 (English, detailed explanation of the election process based on the 2012 election). 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} J. K. Chopra: Politics of Election Reforms in India. Mittal Publications, Delhi 1989, ISBN 81-7099-103-X , pp. 119f
2. ↑ ^{a b c} 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).