Indian presidential election, 2002

Last updated April 09, 2019

Indian presidential election, 2002 was held on 15 July 2002 to elect President of India. On 18 July 2002, the results were declared. Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam became the 11th President by beating his nearest rival Capt. (Dr.) Lakshmi Sahgal.^[1]

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

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.

Lakshmi Sahgal was a revolutionary of the Indian independence movement, an officer of the Indian National Army, and the Minister of Women's Affairs in the Azad Hind government. Sahgal is commonly referred to in India as "Captain Lakshmi", a reference to her rank when taken prisoner in Burma during the Second World War.

Candidates

Official candidates

Scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Independence activist
Lakshmi Sahgal

A scientist is someone who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of interest.

The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted in 1954, the award is conferred "in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The award was originally limited to achievements in the arts, literature, science, and public services, but the government expanded the criteria to include "any field of human endeavour" in December 2011. The recommendations for the Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President, with a maximum of three nominees being awarded per year. Recipients receive a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a peepal-leaf–shaped medallion; there is no monetary grant associated with the award. Bharat Ratna recipients rank seventh in the Indian order of precedence.

Indian independence movement Indian struggle for freedom from British

The Indian independence movement was a series of activities whose ultimate aim was to end the British Raj and encompassed activities and ideas aiming to end the East India Company rule (1757–1857) and the British Raj (1857–1947) in the Indian subcontinent. The movement spanned a total of 90 years (1857–1947) considering movement against British Indian Empire. The Indian Independence movement includes both protest and militant (violent) mechanisms to root out British Administration from India.

The election was fought between two major candidates, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Lakshmi Sahgal.^[1] Kalam was backed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its National Democratic Alliance. Telugu Desam Party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Bahujan Samaj Party also supported his candidature.^[2] The major opposition party Indian National Congress, two days after the nomination, declared its support to Kalam's candidature.^[3]

The Bharatiya Janata Party is one of the two major political parties in India, along with the Indian National Congress. As of 2018, it is the country's largest political party in terms of representation in the national parliament and state assemblies, and it is the world's largest party in terms of primary membership. BJP is a right-wing party, and its policy has historically reflected Hindu nationalist positions. It has close ideological and organisational links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is a coalition of Progressive centre-right to right-wing political parties in India. At the time of its formation in 1998, it was led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and had 13 constituent parties. Its chairman was late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Also representing the alliance are L. K. Advani, former Deputy Prime Minister, who is the acting chairman of the Alliance, Narendra Modi, current Prime Minister and the Leader of the House in Lok Sabha; and Arun Jaitley, Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha and Finance minister. The coalition ruled from 1998 to 2004. The alliance returned to power in the 2014 General election with a combined vote share of 38.5%. Its leader, Narendra Modi, was sworn in as Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014.

Telugu Desam Party Political party of India

Telugu Desam Party, abbreviated as TDP, is a regional political party active in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The party was founded by N.T. Ramarao on 29 March 1982. Since 1995, the party is headed by N. Chandrababu Naidu, the incumbent Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The party's headquarters is located at NTR Bhavan in Hyderabad.

Left Front were opposed to Kalam's candidature, and eventually nominated freedom fighter and Indian National Army's Rani of Jhansi Regiment commander Lakshmi Sahgal as their candidate.^[4]

The Left Front is an alliance of political parties in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was formed in January 1977, the founding parties being the Communist Party of India (Marxist), All India Forward Bloc, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Marxist Forward Bloc, the Revolutionary Communist Party of India and the Biplabi Bangla Congress. Other parties joined in later years, most notably the Communist Party of India.

The Indian National Army was an armed force formed by Indian nationalist Rash Bihari Bose in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure Indian independence from British rule. It formed an alliance with the Empire of Japan in the latter's campaign in the Southeast Asian theatre of WWII. The army was first formed in 1942 under Rash Behari Bose, Mohan Singh, by Indian PoWs of the British-Indian Army captured by Japan in the Malayan campaign and at Singapore. This first INA collapsed and was disbanded in December that year after differences between the INA leadership and the Japanese military over its role in Japan's war in Asia. Rash Behari Bose handed over INA to Subhas Chandra Bose It was revived under the leadership of Subhash Chandra Bose after his arrival in Southeast Asia in 1943. The army was declared to be the army of Bose's Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind. Under Bose's leadership, the INA drew ex-prisoners and thousands of civilian volunteers from the Indian expatriate population in Malaya and Burma. This second INA fought along with the Imperial Japanese Army against the British and Commonwealth forces in the campaigns in Burma, in Imphal and at Kohima, and later against the successful Burma Campaign of the Allies.

Rani of Jhansi Regiment womens regiment of the Indian National Army

The Rani of Jhansi Regiment was the Women's Regiment of the Indian National Army, the armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia with the aim of overthrowing the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance. It was one of the very few all-female combat regiments of the Second World War on any side. Led by Captain Lakshmi Swaminathan, the unit was raised in July 1943 with volunteers from the expatriate Indian population in South East Asia. The unit was named the Rani of Jhansi Regiment after Lakshmibai, Rani of Jhansi.

Potential candidates

President
K. R. Narayanan
Vice President
Krishan Kant
Former Chief Justice
A. M. Ahmadi
Governor of Maharashtra
P. C. Alexander

Kocheril Raman Narayanan was the tenth President 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.

Krishan Kant was the tenth Vice President of India from 1997 until his death. Previously, he was Governor of Andhra Pradesh from 1990 to 1997.

Potential candidates included, President K. R. Narayanan,^[2] Maharashtra Governor P. C. Alexander,^[2] Vice President Krishan Kant ^[2] and Former Chief Justice of India A. M. Ahmadi.^[5]

Padinjarethalakal Cherian Alexander was an Indian Administrative Service officer of 1948 batch who served as the Governor of Tamil Nadu from 1988 to 1990 and as the Governor of Maharashtra from 1993 to 2002. He was considered as a candidate for the post of the President of India in 2002. During his time in Maharashtra, he had additional charge of Goa from 1996 to 1998. He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha representing Maharashtra as an independent candidate from 29 July 2002 to 2 April 2008.

Chief Justice of India presiding officer of the Supreme Court of India

The Chief Justice of India (CJI) is the head of the judiciary of India and the Supreme Court of India. The CJI also heads their administrative functions.

Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi was the 26th Chief Justice of India. After serving as a judge in the Gujarat High Court, Ahmadi was appointed judge to the Supreme Court in 1988. He was then elevated to the post of Chief Justice, and served from 1994–1997. He served as Chancellor at the Aligarh Muslim University.

Results

States	No. of MLA/MPs	Value of each Vote	Total (Votes)	Total (Values)	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (Votes)	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (Values)	Lakshmi Sahgal (Votes)	Lakshmi Sahgal (Values)	Invalid (Votes)	Invalid (Values)	Valid (Votes)	Valid (Values)
Members of Parliament	776	708	760	538,080	638	451,704	80	56,640	42	29,736	718	50,8344
Andhra Pradesh	294	148	283	41,884	264	39,072	2	296	17	2,516	266	39,368
Arunachal Pradesh	60	8	57	456	57	456	0	0	0	0	57	456
Assam	126	116	119	13,804	113	13,108	1	116	5	580	114	13,224
Bihar	243	173	234	40,482	215	37,195	17	2,941	2	346	232	40,136
Chhattisgarh	90	129	90	11,610	85	10,965	0	0	5	645	85	10,965
Goa	40	20	39	780	34	680	3	60	2	40	37	740
Gujarat	182	147	179	26,313	174	25,578	2	294	3	441	176	25,872
Haryana	90	112	86	9,632	86	9,632	0	0	0	0	86	9,632
Himachal Pradesh	68	51	64	3,264	62	3,162	1	51	1	51	63	3,213
Jammu and Kashmir	87	72	78	5,616	72	5,184	2	144	4	288	74	5,328
Jharkhand	81	176	79	13,904	74	13,024	5	880	0	0	79	13,904
Karnataka	224	131	220	28,820	202	26,462	13	1,703	5	655	215	28,165
Kerala	140	152	138	20,976	97	14,744	39	5,928	2	304	136	20,672
Madhya Pradesh	230	131	229	29,999	216	28,296	2	262	11	1,441	218	28,558
Maharashtra	288	175	280	49,000	264	46,200	9	1,575	7	1,225	273	47,775
Manipur	60	18	58	1,044	50	900	4	72	4	72	54	972
Meghalaya	60	17	56	952	53	901	1	17	2	34	54	918
Mizoram	40	8	40	320	40	320	0	0	0	0	42	320
Nagaland	60	9	60	540	54	486	0	0	6	54	54	486
Orissa	147	149	146	21,754	130	19,370	12	1,788	4	596	142	21,158
Punjab	117	116	110	12,760	87	10,092	9	1,044	14	1,624	96	1,1136
Rajasthan	200	129	197	25,413	189	24,381	2	258	6	774	191	24,639
Sikkim	32	7	32	224	30	210	0	0	2	14	30	210
Tamil Nadu	234	176	233	41,111	217	38,192	10	1,760	6	1,056	227	39,952
Tripura	60	26	60	1,560	17	442	41	1,066	2	52	58	1,508
Uttarakhand	70	64	69	4,416	63	4,032	3	192	3	192	66	4,224
Uttar Pradesh	403	208	397	82,576	386	80,288	2	416	9	1,872	388	80,704
West Bengal	294	151	292	44,092	90	13,590	197	29,747	5	755	287	43,337
Delhi	70	58	70	4,060	65	3,770	2	116	3	174	67	3,886
Pondicherry	147	127	145	18,415	147	448	0	0	2	32	28	448
TOTALS	4,896		4,785	1,075,819	4,152	922,884	459	107,366	174	45,569	4,611	1,030,250
Source: Election Commission of India

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References

1 2 "A P J Abdul Kalam elected 11th President of India". Rediff.com . July 18, 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
1 2 3 4 "NDA's smart missile: President Kalam". The Economic Times . June 11, 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
↑ "Congress for Kalam, Left still for contest". The Hindu . June 14, 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
↑ "Left parties to field Lakshmi Sahgal". The Hindu . June 15, 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
↑ "People's Front dissolved, Left to enter fray". The Hindu . June 13, 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2016.

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[rediff-1] 1 2 "A P J Abdul Kalam elected 11th President of India". Rediff.com . July 18, 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2016.

[et-2] 1 2 3 4 "NDA's smart missile: President Kalam". The Economic Times . June 11, 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2016.

[cs-3] "Congress for Kalam, Left still for contest". The Hindu . June 14, 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2016.

[4] "Left parties to field Lakshmi Sahgal". The Hindu . June 15, 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2016.

[5] "People's Front dissolved, Left to enter fray". The Hindu . June 13, 2002. Retrieved May 28, 2016.