UP's vote to be divided between UPA, NDA candidates in Prez poll

Lucknow, June 15 (UNI) With the announcement of Rajasthan Governor Pratibha Patil as the UPA candidate in the Presidential polls, now it is certain that the electoral college in Uttar Pradesh will be horizontally divided between the UPA and NDA candidates for the post on July 19.

As already announced by the Chief Minister Mayawati , Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is set to go with the UPA candidate for enabling an woman to become the President first time in the country while the opposition Samajwadi Party MLAs are expected to vote in favour of independent candidate Vice-President Bhairo Singh Shekhawat supported by the NDA.

The BSP'support to UPA candidate is going to be crucial for the presidential candidate of the ruling dispensation at the Centre.

The term of the present incumbent, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, ends on July 24 and his successor ought to be elected by then.

In Uttar Pradesh,though the BSP has achieved absolute majority in the assembly polls, but Samajwadi Party has the maximum votes in the President's poll electoral college as it has 45 Members of Parliament.

Additional Returning officer(ARO) and principal secretary (assembly) R P Pandey said here today that the value of each vote of the MLA is around 412 while of the MPs is 708.

''All preparation for smooth conduct of the elections, if required, have started and will be completed in time'', he said.

Of the total quota of votes of the UP assembly , the BSP has the highest of 86108 while the main opposition SP has 38728.

Meanwhile, for the 2007 presidential polls the candidate has to approach 107 political parties and their leaders. An aspirant's campaign must be a mix of careful calculation and a mega public relations exercise.

The electorate consists of 4,120 MLAs, belonging to 30 legislative assemblies, apart from 776 MPs. Moreover, it is not based on a simple one-vote-for-one-elector principle. Each voter's vote has a certain value. Each MP's vote has a value of 708, which makes the total value of their votes 5,49,408.

When it comes to the value of the vote of an MLA, things get really complicated. The value of an MLA's vote is calculated on the basis of the total number of assembly seats in each state divided by the total population of the state (according to the 1971 census).

Therefore, one vote of an MLA from Uttar Pradesh, which has the highest population and also the largest number of MLAs (403), will carry a value of 412, whereas an MLA from Sikkim which has 32 MLAs has the lowest vote-value of seven. The total value of the votes of all the MLAs of UP works out almost 10 per cent of the total value of votes of 4,120 MLAs.

UNI