Who elects the President of India? Here's all you need to know

As President Pranab Mukherjee's term comes to an end on July 24 this year, the Presidential election in the country will be held on July 17.

The voting will take place on July 17 and the result will be out on July 20.

The NDA, led by the BJP, has 5,37,683 votes includes the Shiv Sena, and the shortage is around 12,000 votes.

In the 2012 elections, Pranab Mukherjee garnered 7,13,763 votes, while Pratibha Patil secured 6,38,116 votes in the previous polls in 2007. Both Mukherjee and Patil were Congress nominees.

In a fresh development, the Election Commission has barred MPs and MLAs who vote to elect the next President from carrying their personal pens inside the voting chamber and will have to mark their ballot with specially- designed marker pens. 

Here's all you need to know about the process

► Who elects the President

The President cannot be elected by the people of the State.​ He/She is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both the Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of States and the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry.

► What is the term of the office of the President?

The President holds office for a term of 5 years from the date on which he enters upon his office.

► Votes of members of the Electoral College

The electoral college which elects the President through the system of proportional representation comprises of elected MPs and members of state legislative assemblies -- a total of 4,896 voters including 4,120 MLAs and 776 elected MPs.

While 233 are elected members of the Rajya Sabha, 543 are from the Lok Sabha. 

► Value of vote

The value of an MLA's vote depends on the population of the state he or she represents. But the value of the vote of an MP does not vary -- it is 708.

For the MLA, the number is decided by the total state population divided by the number of elected members to the legislative assembly, further divided by 1,000.

The total combined value of votes is 10,98,903 — 5,49,408 for MPs and 5,49,495 for MLAs. 

The halfway mark is expected to be 5,49,442 votes. However, the actual halfway mark depends on valid votes. 

► How it works out

The winning candidate needs to secure a certain quota of votes which is 50% of the valid votes polled +1. 

Each MP and MLA indicates his/her choices in case of multiple candidates, in an order of preference. 

Each vote cast is given a value based on various factors such as the first preference order, value of vote of each elector-ate, etc.

► Where the elections will be held

The elections will be held in the Parliament House and in all State Legislative Assembly Secretariats. The members cast their votes in a secret paper ballot.

► What are the qualifications for being elected as President?

According to Article 58 of the Constitution, no person shall be eligible for election as President unless he is a citizen of India, has completed the age of 35 years and is qualified for election as a member of the House of the People. A person shall not be eligible if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State or under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the said Government.

► Can a Member of Parliament or the State Legislature become the President?

The President shall nor be a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any state and if any such member is elected President he shall be claimed to have vacated his seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon office as President.

►  Different coloured ballot papers

It will be green-coloured ballot papers for members of Parliament and pink for MLAs who vote in the presidential election on July 17.

The ballot boxes will be brought to Delhi for counting on July 20.

Ballot papers for Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi, which are to be printed in English and Hindi, will be printed here by the poll panel itself.

But ballot papers for Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, West Bengal and Puducherry, which are required to be printed in languages other than Hindi (and/or) English, will be printed in the respective states.

Electronic voting machines are not used in these elections as EVMs are formatted for first-past-the post system of voting.

(Updated on July 17, 2017)