The Constitution of India
Article 55
Manner of election of President
(1) As far as practicable, there shall be uniformity in the scale of representation of the different States at the election of the President.
(2) For the purpose of securing such uniformity among the States inter se as well as parity between the States as a whole and the Union, the number of votes which each elected member of Parliament and of the Legislative Assembly of each State is entitled to cast at such election shall be determined in the following manner:—
(a) 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;
(b) if, after taking the said multiples of one thousand, the remainder is not less than five hundred, then the vote of each member referred to in sub-clause (a) shall be further increased by one;
(c) each 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 the members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States under sub-clauses (a) and (b) by the total number of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament, fractions exceeding onehalf being counted as one and other fractions being disregarded.
(3) The election of the President shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.
Explanation.—In this article, the expression ''population'' means the population as ascertained at the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published: Provided that the reference in this Explanation to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published shall, until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 1 [2026] have been published, be construed as a reference to the 1971 census.
Why this exists
The framers wanted the President to be elected by both Parliament and the state legislatures together, reflecting India's federal character. But states differ hugely in population and number of MLAs, so a simple one-MLA-one-vote system would let small states or thinly populated legislatures wield disproportionate power. Article 55's formula converts population and assembly size into standardized 'vote values' so that, as closely as practicable, each state's real demographic weight is reflected, while also balancing the states collectively against Parliament. Freezing the population figure at the 1971 census (later extended to 2026) was a deliberate policy choice, tied to family-planning goals, so that states pursuing population control weren't penalized with reduced political weight for succeeding at it.
How courts read it
There is no major Supreme Court case reinterpreting the mechanics of Article 55 itself, since it is a self-contained mathematical formula rather than a source of ambiguous rights language. Courts have occasionally referenced it in passing while discussing the federal structure of presidential elections and the Election Commission's role in conducting them, but its practical application has mostly been handled through delegated legislation (the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952) and Election Commission notifications rather than litigation.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: The President is elected directly by ordinary citizens, like the Prime Minister's party is chosen by voters.
Fact: The President is elected indirectly, only by elected MPs and MLAs, using the weighted vote-value formula in Article 55 — ordinary citizens don't vote directly in this election. - Myth: Using the 1971 census means Article 55 is outdated and ignores real population changes.
Fact: The freeze at the 1971 census (extended toward 2026) was a deliberate constitutional choice to avoid penalizing states for successful population control, not an oversight. - Myth: Every MLA across India has the same voting power in a presidential election.
Fact: Vote value differs sharply by state, since it's calculated from each state's 1971 population divided by its number of elected MLAs.