DRAUPADI MURMU: 15TH PRESIDENT OF INDIA
Draupadi Murmu, a tribal woman became the 15th President of India on 21st July 2022. She was a presidential candidate from NDA and won an election getting 540 more votes than the opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. Murmu is basically from Rairangpur in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha. Murmu belongs to the Santhali tribal family of Odisha. She became the first tribal woman who secured such a topmost post in the country and also became the second woman President of India after Pratibha Patil. She achieved a top constitutional post in the country and got a big victory in the 16th Presidential election of India.
Presidential Election of India 2022 Highlights
The Presidential Election in India was conducted on 18th July 2022. All the elected MLAs and MPs across the country voted in this Presidential Election. Draupadi Murmu was a presidential candidate from NDA while his opposition Sinha was a candidate of the opposition parties. The counting of votes is done on 21st July 2022. Murmu got 71.79℅ votes while Yashwant Sinha got nearly 28% votes Murmu was finally elected as the 15th President of India. She succeeded Ramnath Kovind whose tenure will end on 24th July 2022.
Some Important Points about Draupadi Murmu : New President of India
She was born on 20th June 1958 at a place named Rairangpur in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha state. She belongs to a poor Santhal tribal family. Santhal tribe is the third largest tribe in India after Gonds and Bhils. The population of Santhal tribes lives mostly in Odisha, Jharkhand, and the West Bengal states of India. She became the second woman after Pratibha Patil was elected as President of India and also became the first tribal woman who became President of India.
HOW IS THE PRESIDENT ELECTED IN INDIA?
The Indian President is elected through an Electoral College system, wherein the votes are cast by national and State-level lawmakers. The elections are conducted and overseen by the Election Commission (EC) of India. The Electoral College is made up of all the elected members of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs), and the elected Members of the Legislative Assemblies of States and Union Territories (MLAs).
Related Constitutional Provisions:
- Article 54: Election of President
- Article 55: Manner of election of President.
- Article 56 :Term of office of President
- Article 57: Eligibility for re-election.
- Article 58: Qualifications for election as President
Procedure: Before the voting, comes the nomination stage, where the candidate intending to stand in the election, files the nomination along with a signed list of 50 proposers and 50 seconders. These proposers and seconders can be anyone from the total members of the electoral college from the State and national level. The rule for securing 50 proposers and seconders was implemented when the EC noticed, in 1974, that several candidates, many without even a bleak chance of winning, would file their nominations to contest the polls. An elector cannot propose or second the nomination of more than one candidate.
What is the value of each vote and how is it calculated?
A vote cast by each MP or MLA is not calculated as one vote. The fixed value of each vote by an MP of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha is 700. Meanwhile, the vote value of each MLA differs from State to State based on a calculation that factors in its population vis-a-vis the number of members in its legislative Assembly. As per the Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act 2001, currently, the population of States is taken from the figures of the 1971 Census. This will change when the figures of the Census taken after the year 2026 are published. The value of each MLAs vote is determined by dividing the population of the State by the number of MLAs in its legislative Assembly, and the quotient achieved is further divided by 1000. Uttar Pradesh for instance, has the highest vote value for each of its MLAs, at 208. The value of one MLAs vote in Maharashtra is 175, while that in Arunachal Pradesh is just 8.
WHAT IS REQUIRED TO SECURE A VICTORY?
A nominated candidate does not secure victory based on a simple majority but through a system of bagging a specific quota of votes. While counting, the EC totals up all the valid votes cast by the Electoral College through paper ballots and to win, the candidate must secure 50% of the total votes cast + 1. Unlike general elections, where electors vote for a single party’s candidate, the voters of the Electoral College write the names of candidates on the ballot paper in the order of preference. The President’s election is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting is by secret ballot.
TEST YOURSELF
Q.1 Out of the given options, which of the following posts is not held by the 15th President of India, Draupadi Murmu?
- Transport and Commerce Ministry in Odisha government
- Governor of Madhya Pradesh: ANSWER
- Governor of Jharkhand
- None of the above-mentioned
Q.2 Consider the following statements & state which of the following is/are correct in the reference to the above-mentioned passage?
- Murmu is the second person belonging to a scheduled tribe, to be nominated as a candidate for the post of President of India.
- The Santhals are also credited for taking on the force of the East India Company through the Santal Hul (revolution) of 1855-56.
- Only I follows
- Only II follows
- Both I & II follows: ANSWER
- None of the above-mentioned
Q.3 Out of the given options, The constitutional position of President of India is most closely similar to which of the following?
- British Monarch: ANSWER
- Russian President
- American President
- British Prime Minister
Q.4 Examine the given options & state which of the following is NOT directly participating in the election of the President?
- the elected members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
- the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the state
- the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry
- Both elected and nominated members of the State legislative council: ANSWER
Q.5 Consider the given options & choose which of the following is matched incorrectly?
- Article 54: Presidential election
- Article 55: Manner of presidential election
- Article 60: Procedure for impeachment of the President: ANSWER
- Article 123: Power of the President to promulgate ordinance
