NDA vs Oppn: India might to witness tightest presidential poll since 1969 | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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NDA vs Oppn: India might to witness tightest presidential poll since 1969

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | By
Apr 27, 2017 10:54 AM IST

The Opposition seems all set to unite behind the Congress to field a common candidate against the BJP-led NDA. However, neither they nor the NDA have the numbers required to reach the majority mark.

The upcoming presidential polls in July may turn out to be the closest electoral contest of the kind since 1969, when VV Giri faced off with Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy.

President Pranab Mukherjee will complete his five-year term in July.(PTI File Photo)
President Pranab Mukherjee will complete his five-year term in July.(PTI File Photo)

The fifth presidential election was the only time no candidate reached the required majority mark in the first count. Candidate after candidate was cast out until only Giri and Reddy remained in fray. Finally, Giri emerged victorious.

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This year, the Opposition seems all set to unite behind the Congress to field a common candidate against the BJP-led NDA. However, neither they nor the NDA have the numbers required to reach the majority mark. Consequently, all eyes will be on two parties – Tamil Nadu’s ruling party AIADMK and Naveen Patnaik’s BJD.

If the NDA can retain its entire flock, it will require around 18,300 votes of the electoral college for the presidential elections. While the AIADMK has 59,224 votes, the BJD enjoys 32,892.

Both the NDA and the Opposition are trying to woo these two crucial parties. Even if one of them supports the NDA, the candidate put up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will sail through comfortably.

All the presidential elections held so far have witnessed contests. The most hard-fought one in 1969 saw Giri getting just 15,000 more votes than Reddy after the first count. Finally, the vote difference rose up to 88,000.

Read | Not in the race for President, NCP doesn’t have enough strength, says Sharad Pawar

The electoral college of the President comprises both MPs and MLAs, and each vote weighs in accordance with proportional representation. While all MP votes bear equal value, the weightage of MLA votes differs from state to state. MLAs from Uttar Pradesh carry the highest value while those from Sikkim have the least.

1st Presidential poll (1952)
Candidate Name Votes
Dr. Rajendra Prasad 507,400
K.T. Shah 92,827
Thatte Lakshman Ganesh 2,672
Chowdhry Hari Ram 1,954
Krishna Kumar Chatterjee 533
2nd Presidential poll (1957)
Candidate Name Votes
Dr. Rajendra Prasad 459,698
Chowdhry Hari Ram 2,672
Nagendra Narayan Das 2,000
3rd Presidential poll (1962)
Candidate Name Votes
Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan 553,067
Chowdhry Hari Ram/t6,341
Yamuna Prasad Trisulia 3,537
4th Presidential poll (1962)
Candidate Name Votes
Zakir Hussain 471,244
Kota Subbarao 363,971
Khubi Ram 1,369
Yamuna Prasad Trisulla 232
Bhamburkar Shriniwas Gopal 232
Brahma Deo 232
Krishna Kumar Chatterjee 125
Kumar Kamla Singh 125
Chandradutt Senani 0
U.P. Chugani 0
Dr. M.C. Davar 0
Chowdhry Hari Ram 0
Dr. Man Singh Ahluwalia 0
Manohara Holkar 0
Seetharamaiah Ramaswamy Sharma Hoysala 0
Satyabhakt 0
5th Presidential poll (1969)
Candidate Name Votes
Varahagiri Venkata Giri (INDEPENDENT) 401,515 / 420,077
Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy (INDEPENDENT) 313,548 / 405,427
C.D. Deshmukh 112,769
Chandradatt Senani 5,814
Furcharan Kaur 940
Rajabhoj Pandurang Nathuji 831
Babu Lal Mag 576
Chowdhry Hari Ram 125
Sharma Manovihari Anirudh 125
Khubi Ram 94
Bhagmal 0
Krishna Kumar Chatterjee 0
Santosh Singh Kachhwaha 0
Dr. Ramdular Tripathi Chakor 0
Shri Ramanlal Prushottam Vyas 0
6th Presidential poll (1974)
Candidate Name Votes
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (INC) 754,113
Tridib Chaudhuri (INDEPENDENT) 189,196
7th Presidential poll (1977)
Candidate Name Votes
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Won unopposed*
*37 candidates filed nominations, 36 got rejected
8th Presidential poll (1982)
Candidate Name Party Votes
Zail Singh Indian National Congress 754,113
H.R. Khanna Independent 282,685
9th Presidential poll (1987)
Candidate Name Party Votes
R. Venkataraman Indian National Congress 740,148
V. R. Krishna Iyer Independent 281,550
Mithilesh Kumar Independent 2,223
10th Presidential poll (1992)
Candidate Name Party Votes
Shankar Dayal Sharma Indian Nationlal Congress 675,864
G.G. Swell Independent 346,485
Ram Jethmalani Independent 2,704
11th Presidential poll (1997)
Candidate Name Party Votes
K.R. Narayanan Indian National Congress 956,290
T.N. Seshan Independent 50,631
Kaka Joginder Singh a.k.a. Dharti Pakad Independent 1,135
12th Presidential poll (2002)
Candidate Name Party Votes
Abdul Kalam Independent 922,884
Lakshmi Sahgal CPI(M) 107,366
13th Presidential poll (2007)
Candidate Name Party Votes
Pratibha Patil Indian National Congress 638,116
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Independent 331,306
14th Presidential poll (2012)
Candidate Name Party Votes
Pranabh Mukherjee Indian National Congress/UPA 713,763
P.A.Sangma Independent 315,987

(Interactive by Samarth Bansal)

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