Q. Consider the following statements in respect of election to the President of India:
1. The members nominated to either House of the Parliament or the Legislative Assemblies of States are also eligible to be included in the Electoral College.
2. Higher the number of elective Assembly seats, higher is the value of vote of each MLA of that State.
3. The value of vote of each MLA of Madhya Pradesh is greater than that of Kerala.
4. The value of vote of each MLA of Puducherry is higher than that of Arunachal Pradesh because the ratio of total population to total number of elective Puducherry is greater as compared to Arunachal Pradesh.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Exp) Option a is the correct answer.
Statement 1 is incorrect. The elected members of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament that is the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha as well as the elected Members of the Legislative Assemblies of States and Union Territories (MLAs) comprise the electoral college for the Presidential Election in India.
Statement 2 is incorrect. The value of vote of each MLA depends on the ratio of the State’s population and the number of MLAs in its legislative Assembly. By dividing the State’s population by the number of MLAs in its legislative Assembly, and then further dividing the quotient achieved by 1000, one may calculate the value of each MLA’s vote. Based on a calculation that takes into account each State’s population in relation to the number of members in its legislative Assembly, each MLA’s vote value varies from State to State. According to the Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act of 2001, the population of the States is currently calculated using data from the 1971 Census.
Statement 3 is incorrect. The vote value of each MLA of Madhya Pradesh is less than that of the vote value of each MLA of Kerala as the ratio of total population to total elective seats in Kerala is greater relative to that in Madhya Pradesh.
Statement 4 is correct. The vote value of each MLA of Puducherry is higher than that of Arunachal Pradesh as the ratio of total population to total elective seats in Puducherry is greater relative to that in Arunachal Pradesh. In 2022 Presidential election the vote value of each MLA from Puducherry was 16 whereas the vote value of each MLA from Arunachal Pradesh came out to be 8.
Source: M LAXMIKANT CHAPTER 17
Subject) Polity/IR
