UPSC Prelims 2018 Question:

With reference to the election of the President of India, consider the following statements.

1. The value of the vote of each MLA varies from state to state.
2. The value of the vote of MPs of the Lok Sabha is more than the value of the vote of MPs of the Rajya Sabha.
   
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Explanation:

• As per Article 54 of the Constitution of India, the President is elected by the members of the Electoral College consisting of:
  
  

• elected members of both Houses of Parliament, and
  
  
• elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all States including National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
  
  

• The value of votes of the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies and both Houses of Parliament is governed by Article 55(2) of the Constitution. Every elected member of the legislative assembly of a State shall have as many votes as there are multiples of one thousand in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the state by the total number of the elected members of the assembly. Hence, it varies according to population of the State. So, statement 1 is correct.
  
  
•  Every elected member of either House of Parliament shall have such number of votes as may be obtained by dividing the total number of votes assigned to members of the legislative assemblies of the States by the total number of the elected members of both the Houses of Parliament. Hence, the value of votes will differ accordingly. So, statement 2 is not correct.
  
  

Therefore, option (1) is the correct answer.

Subject: Polity | President