Indian presidential election, 2007

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Indian presidential election, 2007
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  Pratibha Patil 2012-02-27.jpg Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (cropped).jpg
Nominee Pratibha Devisingh Patil Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Party INC BJP
Home state Maharashtra Rajasthan
Electoral vote638,116331,306
Percentage65.8%34.2%
Prasidentschaftswahl Indien 2007.svg
President before election

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Independent

Elected President

Pratibha Patil
INC

The Election Commission of India held indirect 13th presidential elections of India on 19 July 2007. [1] Pratibha Patil with 638,116 votes won over her nearest rival Bhairon Singh Shekhawat who got 331,306 votes. This result meant that Pratibha Patil became the first female President of India.

Election Commission of India election regulatory body of India

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering election processes in India. The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Council in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country. The Election Commission operates under the authority of Constitution per Article 324, and subsequently enacted Representation of the People Act. The commission has the powers under the Constitution, to act in an appropriate manner when the enacted laws make insufficient provisions to deal with a given situation in the conduct of an election. Being a constitutional authority, Election Commission is amongst the few institutions which function with both autonomy and freedom, along with the country’s higher judiciary, the Union Public Service Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

India Country in South Asia

India, also known as the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh largest country by area and with more than 1.3 billion people, it is the second most populous country as well as the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, while its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.

Pratibha Patil 12th President of India

Pratibha Devisingh Patil is an Indian politician who served as the 12th President of India from 2007 to 2012. A member of the Indian National Congress, Patil is the only woman so far to hold the office. She previously served as the Governor of Rajasthan from 2004 to 2007.

Contents

Candidates

Official candidates

Vice President of India Second-highest constitutional office of India

The Vice President of India is the second-highest constitutional office in India after the President. Article 63 of Indian Constitution states that "There shall be a Vice President of India." The Vice President acts as President in the absence of the president due to death, resignation, impeachment, or other situations.

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Indian politician

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was the 11th Vice President of India. He served in that position from August 2002, when he was elected to a five-year term by the electoral college following the death of Krishan Kant, until he resigned on 21 July 2007, after losing the presidential election to Pratibha Patil. Shekhawat was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a leading member of the National Democratic Alliance at the time of election. He served as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan three times, from 1977 to 1980, 1990 to 1992 and 1993 to 1998.

On 14 June, Pratibha Patil, the governor of the state of Rajasthan, was declared by UPA as its candidate for the election. The Left and other allies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) such as Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) announced their support on Patil's candidature. Shiv Sena, an ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) also supported Patil's candidature. The move came as a surprise as Patil's name was not mentioned among the probables by UPA so far.

Rajasthan State in India

Rajasthan is a state in northern India. The state covers an area of 342,239 square kilometres (132,139 sq mi) or 10.4 percent of the total geographical area of India. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. Rajasthan is located on the northwestern side of India, where it comprises most of the wide and inhospitable Thar Desert and shares a border with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab to the northwest and Sindh to the west, along the Sutlej-Indus river valley. Elsewhere it is bordered by five other Indian states: Punjab to the north; Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to the northeast; Madhya Pradesh to the southeast; and Gujarat to the southwest.

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a coalition of centre-left political parties in India formed after the 2004 general election. The largest member party of the UPA is the INC, whose Former National President Sonia Gandhi is chairperson of the UPA. It formed a government with support from some other left-aligned parties in 2004.

Bahujan Samaj Party Political party of India

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national political party in India. By vote share in the 2014 general election, it is India's third-largest national party, though it did not win any seats in the Lok Sabha. It was formed to represent Bahujans, referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes (OBC), along with religious minorities. According to Kanshi Ram, when he founded the party in 1984, the Bahujans comprised 85 percent of India's population, but were divided into 6,000 different castes. The party claims to be inspired by the philosophy of Gautama Buddha, B. R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Narayana Guru, Periyar E. V. Ramasamy and Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj. Kanshi Ram named his protégée Mayawati as his successor in 2001.

Supported unofficially by the NDA, the then Vice President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat filed his nomination as an independent candidate on 25 June 2007.

Potential candidates

President of India Ceremonial head of state of India

The President of India is the ceremonial head of state of India and the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 11th President of India, scientist and science administrator

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was an Indian politician and aerospace scientist who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied physics and aerospace engineering. He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator, mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was intimately involved in India's civilian space programme and military missile development efforts. He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He also played a pivotal organisational, technical, and political role in India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998, the first since the original nuclear test by India in 1974.

Minister of Home Affairs (India) head of the Ministry of Home Affairs in India

The Minister of Home Affairs is the head of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. One of the senior-most officers in the Union Cabinet, the chief responsibility of the Home Minister is the maintenance of India's internal security; the country's large police force comes under his ambit. Occasionally, he/she is assisted by the Minister of State of Home Affairs and the lower-ranked Deputy Minister of Home Affairs.

Amidst much speculation by various party leaders and media, a lot of names were tossed around as being probable or desired persons for holding the post.

Initially Shivraj Patil and Pranab Mukherjee (both sitting cabinet ministers) emerged as the frontrunners [2] for the candidature. Other names which did the rounds in the UPA camp include Sushil Kumar Shinde and Karan Singh. Pranab Mukherjee was stated to be too critical at his current responsibility to stand for the presidential elections and the Left parties opposed the candidature of Shivaraj Patil, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Karan Singh. [3]

Shivraj Patil Indian politician

Shivraj Vishwanath Patil is an Indian politician who was the Governor of the state of Punjab and Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh from 2010 to 2015. Previously, he was the Speaker of the 10th Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996 and served in Manmohan Singh's cabinet as Union Minister of Home Affairs from 2004 to 2008. He also served in the Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi cabinets as Minister of Defence during the 1980s.

Pranab Mukherjee 13th President of India

Pranab Mukherjee is an Indian politician who served as the 13th President of India from 2012 until 2017. He is a Bharat Ratna awardee, awarded in 2019 by President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee has been a senior leader in the Indian National Congress and has occupied several ministerial portfolios in the Government of India. Prior to his election as President, Mukherjee was Union Finance Minister from 2009 to 2012.

Karan Singh Indian politician

Karan Singh is an Indian politician, philanthropist and poet. He belongs to Kashmir Dogra dynasty and son of Maharaja Hari Singh. He was a member of India's Upper House of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha representing the National Capital Territory of Delhi. He is a senior member of the Indian National Congress Party who served successively as President (Sadr-i-Riyasat) and Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Singh is the son of the last ruler of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh. In the 26th amendment to the Constitution of India promulgated in 1971, the Government of India, of which Karan Singh was a Union cabinet minister, abolished all official symbols of princely India, including titles, privileges, and remuneration. During the conclusion of the Cold War, he was India's ambassador to the USA. Singh received the Padma Vibhushan in 2005. He was proposed for candidacy in the July 2017 Indian presidential election by Bhim Singh.

On the other hand, the NDA stated that it would support Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, in case he decides to contest as an independent candidate. [4]

Other probables such as N.R. Narayana Murthy who received significant media hype did not appear to have gathered any support from any of the sides. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a former prime minister who would have been NDA's probable candidate [5] denied his desire to become the next president. [6]

On 18 June, a set of parties with allegiance neither to UPA or NDA—All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Samajwadi Party (SP)—formed an alliance called the United National Progressive Alliance and announced their support for a second term for the incumbent, Abdul Kalam. [7] On 20 June a delegation of United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) met Dr. Kalam with a request to contest the presidential elections, to which he replied that he is willing to contest only if there is a certainty of winning and that he is willing to wait for a few days for this certainty. [8] However, he soon announced he would not run.

On 14 July 2007, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (Leader of Opposition) J. Jayalalitha announced that the UNPA unanimously decided to abstain from the presidential polls. However, the Election Commission of India held that the UNPA cannot ask its legislators to abstain from voting, quoting Section 171 C of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Process

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As per the electoral calculation following were the number of votes for respective political parties. Electoral College (India)

Name of partyCombined value of vote
Indian National Congress 281,015
Bharatiya Janata Party 253,269
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 81,722
Bahujan Samaj Party 62,862
Samajwadi Party 58,403
Rashtriya Janata Dal 32,727
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 29,752
Janata Dal (United) 27,057
Nationalist Congress Party 23,788
Shiv Sena 22,178
Biju Janata Dal 19,709
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 19,280
Communist Party of India 15,130
Telugu Desam Party 14,744
Shiromani Akali Dal 13,356
Janata Dal (Secular) 11,956
Pattali Makkal Katchi 8,156
Trinamool Congress 8,070
Telangana Rashtra Samithi 7,388
All India Forward Bloc 7,365
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 7,128
Revolutionary Socialist Party 6,360
Rashtriya Lok Dal 4,912
Asom Gana Parishad 4,908
Lok Jan Shakti Party 4,742
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference 4,140
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 3,904
Indian National Lok Dal 2,940
Jammu & Kashmir People's Democratic Party 2,568
Indian Union Muslim League 2,480
Sikkim Democratic Front 1,633
Nagaland People's Front 1,587
Mizo National Front 1,584
Kerala Congress 1,316
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen 1,300
Assam United Democratic Front 1,160
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation 1,041
Republican Party of India (Athvale) 883
Swatantra Bharat Paksh 883
Kerala Congress (Mani) 760
Samata Party 717
Bharatiya Navshakti Party 708
Indian Federal Democratic Party 708
National Loktantrik Party 708
Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) 708
Jan Surajya Shakti 700
West Bengal Socialist Party 604
Gorkhaland National Liberation Front 453
Rashtriya Parivartan Dal 416
Gondvana Ganatantra Party 393
United Goans Democratic Party 372
All Jharkhand Students Union 352
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi 352
Peasants and Workers Party of India 350
Orissa Gana Parishad 298
Janata Party 296
Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party 288
Rashtriya Samanta Dal 262
Akhil Bharatiya Loktantrik Congress 208
Bharatiya Janshakti Party 208
Jan Morcha 208
Rashtriya Swabhimaan Party 208
Uttar Pradesh United Democratic Front 208
Uttarakhand Kranti Dal 192
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam 176
Jharkhand Party 176
Akhil Bharitiya Sena 175
Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangha 175
Akhil Jan Vikas Party 173
Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra 156
United Democratic Party 153
Congress (Secular) 152
Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) 152
Indian National League 152
JSS152
Kerala Congress (Balakrishna) 152
Kerala Congress (Secular) 152
Democratic Socialist Party 151
Jharkhand Party (Naren) 151
Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha 131
Kannada Nadu Party 131
Republican Party of India 131
Rajasthan Samajik Nyaya Manch 129
Asom Gana Parishad (Pragatishel) 116
Autonomous State Demand Committee 116
Loko Sanmilon 116
Manipur People's Party 90
Democratic Movement 72
Jammu & Kashmir Awami League 72
Meghalaya Democratic Party 68
National People's Party 54
Himachal Vikas Congress 51
Loktantrik Morcha Himachal Pradesh 51
Nationalist Democratic Movement 45
Pondicherry Munnetra Congress 48
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party 40
Save Goa Front 40
Hill State People's Democratic Party 34
Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement 34
Mizoram People's Conference 24
Arunachal Congress 16
Zoram Nationalist Party 16
Hmar People's Convention 8
Maraland Democratic Front 8
Independents 32,202

Figures are based upon and . Figure on Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha seats do not take into consideration splits, mergers, defections, expulsions and by-elections after general elections have been held.

Know Pratibha Patil

Know Pratibha Patil is part of the political campaign launched by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the presidential election of 2007. It consists of a website and a PDF booklet (titled "Presidential Election 2007"), created by the BJP under the banner of Project India. Both contain the party's allegation in the form of a compilation of articles from various media. While announcing the website at a press conference, the BJP party general secretary Arun Jaitley also distributed a printed form of the booklet and described it as a compilation of articles / editorials from newspapers on the Presidential contest. [9] [10]

The stated objective of the site is to "educate the people about Pratibha Patil, the nominee of UPA and Indian left for Indian presidential election scheduled on 19 July 2007". To support this, the website consists of various sections like 'Cartoon,' 'Pratibhaspeak' and 'UPA Doublespeak' and includes links to video clippings and articles that refer to the various allegations levelled against Pratibha Patil.

The website declares :

BJP leader Arun Jaitley talking to news-persons called the website a "campaign to provide an informed choice to the electorate (the electoral college)". "The voter has a right to the information about the candidate he is voting for. This effort is intended for an informed choice of the electorate," Jaitley said. [11]

Arun Jaitley did not respond when asked what would happen to the right of information when people are "informed" only about one of the two presidential candidates. He said the website would vanish after 21 July, when the presidential election result will be out.

However, the website can still be viewed via archive.org [12]

An INC spokesperson commented:

BJP division

The Times of India BJP leaders had initially looked divided over supporting this campaign against Pratibha Patil. Party chief Rajnath Singh seemed reluctant to be drawn into a "personal attack" while senior party leader L. K. Advani spoke at length on the "pliant President" issue at the party's national executive last month. [11] Daily News and Analysis also reported on the apparent differences among senior leaders on this campaign and had this quote:

Results

 MPsMLAsTotal
Pratibha Patil 312,936325,180638,116
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat 164,256167,050331,306

Source: "India gets first woman president". NDTV.com. 21 July 2007. Archived from the original on 17 August 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2007.

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References

  1. ↑ Indian MPs vote for new president. BBC News . Retrieved on 19 July 2007.
  2. ↑ "NDTV.com: Presidential race: UPA narrows down to Pranab, Patil". Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  3. ↑ Press Trust of India (2007-06-14). "Pratibha Patil is UPA-Left nominee for Prez poll" . Retrieved 2007-06-14.
  4. ↑ "Prez polls: Shekhawat can contest as independent". The Times Of India. India. 6 June 2007.
  5. ↑ "NDTV.com: Mamta propose Vajpayee as President". Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  6. ↑ I have no desire to be the President: Vajpayee [ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ http://www.ibnlive.com/news/politics/06_2007/patil-a-joke-played-by-sonia-kalam-is-best-third-front-43132.html
  8. ↑ Kalam surprises Third Front by his changed stance
  9. ↑ BJP creates website on Pratibha Patil The Hindu – 11 July 2007
  10. ↑ BJP launches website against Pratibha Sahara Samay – 10 July 2007 Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine .
  11. 1 2 Know Patil better: BJP puts up website "Know Patil better: BJP puts up website" Times of India, 11 July 2007
  12. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20070715091859/http://www.knowpratibhapatil.com/
  13. ↑ Bid to malign her, says Congress The Hindu – 11 July 2007
  14. ↑ BJP divided over campaign against Patil "Bid to malign her, says Congress" DNA. 11 July 2007
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