New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party's impressive victories in polls to four states has put it in a strong position for this year's presidential election. Political analysts said the BJP's massive victory in Uttar Pradesh would give Prime Minister Narendra Modi ample opportunity to decide on the successor of President Ram Nath Kovind, who will complete his term on July 24, 2022.
If the Uttar Pradesh election results had gone in favour of the Samajwadi Party, the BJP would have had to rely on the support of parties like the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).
The electoral college for the presidential elections includes elected members of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and elected members of the states and Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry. Members of legislative councils and nominated members are not part of the electoral college.
"Now the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has an advantage," said former Lok Sabha Secretary General P Sreedharan.
In terms of numbers, the electoral college is made up of 233 members of the Rajya Sabha, 543 members of the Lok Sabha and 4,120 members of the assemblies -- a total of 4,896 electors.
The value of each MP's vote has been set at 708, while the value of an MLA's vote in the states is the highest at 208. The total value of votes in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly is 83,824, Punjab 13,572, Uttarakhand 4,480, Goa 800 and Manipur 1,080.
A political analyst said the series of victories in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur has made the presidential election easier for the BJP.
A section of the Opposition had projected Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar as the likely candidate for the presidential election. TRS supremo and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had also met some Opposition leaders to play a key role in the presidential elections indirectly.
In an attempt to create a divide in the BJP-led NDA, the NCP had proposed the name of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the joint opposition candidate in the presidential election. Nitish Kumar, however, has clarified that he had no thought of contesting the presidential election.
Presidential elections follow a system of proportional representation through a single transferable vote. The value of each vote is predetermined in proportion to the population of the state concerned based on the 1971 Census.
Under this, the total value of the electoral college consisting of 4,896 electors is 10,98,903 and the winning candidate has to get an additional vote with at least 50 per cent to be declared elected.