Indian Presidential Election, 2022
The article 'Indian Presidential Election, 2022' elucidates the 16th Presidential Election that took place on the 18th of July, 2022 in India.
The article 'Indian Presidential Election, 2022' by Radhika Mittal elucidates the 16th Presidential Election that took place on the 18th of July, 2022 in India. The election took place with a turnout of 99.12%. There were two nominees for the Indian Presidential Election. One was BJP candidate Droupadi Murmu and the other was Yashwant Sinha from AITC (All India Trinamool Congress). Droupadi Murmu emerged victorious in Indian Presidential Election, 2022 defeating Yashwant Sinha by 2,96,626 votes. Through this victory, Droupadi Murmu became the first tribal and second woman president in India after Smt. Pratibha Patil. She became the 15th president of India and the youngest to occupy the top position at an age of 64.
Introduction
The President of India is the head of the State. He is considered the first citizen of India. Article 52 of the Constitution of India provides for the post of president in India and states that "there shall be a President of India" and Article 53 of the Indian Constitution confers the power to the president of India. The tenure of the president in India is five years from the date on which he enters the office and is eligible for re-election. The President of India can only be removed from his office by the process of impeachment. He may also resign from the office by serving a resignation letter to the Vice-President of India.
Presidential Election
The qualifications required to be the President of India are provided under Article 58 of the Constitution of India which states that for holding the office of president of India, he must be:
a) A citizen of India;
b) Completed the age of thirty-five years, and;
c) Qualified as a member of the House of People.
The President is indirectly elected by an electoral college which consists of:
a) The elected members of both the houses of parliament of India, and
b) The elected members of legislative assemblies of each of the Indian states and Union Territories of State of NCT of Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu and Kashmir.
The electoral college of the 2022 presidential election comprised 776 MPs and 4,033 MLAs, making a total of 4,809 electors.
The President is elected in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. In order to appear on the ballot, the presidential candidate needs to be supported by 50 proposers and 50 secondars. A Presidential candidate would be disqualified if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or of any state or under local or other authority.
Presidents Till Now
President's name & Term of Office
1. Dr. Rajendra Prasad: 26 January 1950 to 13 May 1962
2. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan: 13 May 1962 to 13 May 1967
3. Dr. Zakir Hussain: 13 May 1967 to 3 May 1969
4. Shri V.V. Giri: 3 May 1969 to 20 July 1969 and
24 August 1969 to 24 August 1974
5. Dr. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad: 24 August 1974 to 11 February 1977
6. Shri Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy: 25 July 1977 to 25 July 1982
7. Giani Zail Singh: 25 July 1982 to 25 July 1987
8. Shri R. Venkataraman: 25 July 1987 to 25 July 1992
9. Dr. Sankar Dayal Sharma: 25 July 1992 to 25 July 1997
10. Shri K.R. Naryana: 25 July 1997 to 25 July 2002
11. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam: 25 July 2002 to 25 July 2007
12. Smt Pratibha Devi Singh Patil: 25 July 2007 to 25 July 2012
13. Shri Pranab Mukherjee: 25 July 2012 to 25 July 2017
14. Shri Ramnath Kovind: 25 July 2017 to 25 July 2022
15. Smt. Droupadi Murmu: 25 July, 2022- Present
About Droupadi Murmu
Droupadi Murmu was born on 20th June 1958 in a Santali family in Uperbeda village, Rairangpur, Odisha. Her father was a farmer and Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat. Her childhood name was Puti Tudu and her current name, Droupadi Murmu, was given to her by her school teacher. She studied for her elementary education at the local primary school in her village itself and went to Bhubaneshwar for higher studies. She graduated with BA from Rama Devi Women's College.
She was married to a Banker and had two sons and a daughter with him, but unfortunately, her husband, two sons, mother, and brother all died within a span of seven years. With respect to her earlier career, she worked within the irrigation department of the Government of Odisha. She also worked as a teacher in a school where she taught Hindi, Maths, Geography, and Odia.
Her political career began in 1997 when she was elected as a councillor of the Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat as an independent candidate from a reserved seat for women. She then joined Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). She won the Odisha Legislative Assembly Election from Rairangpur Assembly Constituency in 2000 and served two tenures, one in 2000 and the other in 2009.
She was also the Minister of State with independent charge during a coalition government of BJP and BJD in Odisha for:
a. Commerce and Transportation in 2000.
b. Fisheries and Animal Resource Department from 2002 to 2004.
She received Nilkanth Award for the best MLA of the Odisha Legislative Assembly in 2007. In 2013, she was elected as BJP National Executive (ST Morcha) and was the district president until 2015. From May 2015 to July 2021, she was the Governor of Jharkhand.
Presidential Campaign
In June 2022, the BJP nominated the name of Droupadi Murmu as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)'s candidate for the Presidential election 2022. She was supported by many opposition parties prior to polling and lately appointed as the 15th President of India. She assumed the office of President of India on 25th July 2022 and took the oath of office in the Central Hall of Parliament by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana.
The Schedule for the presidential election was announced by the Election Commission of India under section 4(1) of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952 wherein the last date for making nomination was fixed for 29th June 2022, the date on which the poll shall be taken was fixed for 18th July 2022 and the date of counting/result was fixed for 21st July 2022.
Droupadi Murmu successfully defeated her opposition Yashwant Sinha with full vigour. Her victory was praised by several world leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, United States President Joe Biden as well as the Presidents of neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, etc. There were faces of joy in the tribal community.
Conclusion
The choice of making Droupadi Murmu the next President of India is a commendable step towards the strength of the Indian democracy. She is the first president of India who belongs to the tribal community, thus, setting an example that India is truly a democratic and socialist country.
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