Presidential elections: Can BJP appoint its candidate without the Shiv Sena?

Can the BJP elect a President of its choice without the Shiv Sena. Here is how the numbers are stacking up.

The Shiv Sena has demanded that the chief of the RSS be made the President of India. For the NDA to elect a candidate of its choice the votes of the Shiv Sena are crucial. The total vote pool of the Shiv Sena is at 25,893. It may be recalled that the Shiv Sena had proposed the name of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for the post of President. The Presidential elections are due in July.

The NDA given the current status and strength of the electoral college may fall short by 20,000 votes in the Presidential polls. The BJP will depend on the votes from Tamil Nadu and Odisha. It is still unclear which way these states would vote. During the BJP's national executive meet in Bhubaneshwar this topic would come up for discussion. The names of L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi are doing the rounds for now.

If the Shiv Sena does not support the BJP, then the party would fall short by 20,000 votes. In the 288 member Maharashtra assembly the BJP has 122 MLAs apart from the support of 12 others. The SS has 63 MLAs. The value of a vote of an MLA in Maharashtra is 175. This means the value of votes of the BJP with the support of the Shiv Sena is at 34,475. The vote value of the Congress and its allies is at 15,575. If the SS decides to support the Congress then the vote value would be at 26,000.

From Maharashtra there are 67 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 19 in the Rajya Sabha. The vote value of each MP is at 708. The BJP and SS together have 52 MPs and the total vote share is at 36,816. The Congress and allies from Maharashtra have a total value vote of 10,620. If the SS decides to go with the Congress then the vote value would be at 25,488.

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