Presidential elections: It is only for second time in history MLAs of a state won’t vote

New Delhi, Jun 09: The value of the vote of a Member of Parliament is likely to go down to 700 from 708 in the presidential polls scheduled in July due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.

Jammu and Kashmir will however not go unrepresented in the presidential elections as the members of the Lok Sabha from the Union Territory will be eligible to cast their vote.

It is not for the first time that legislators of a state assembly will not be able to participate in the presidential elections.

In 1974, the 182-member Gujarat Assembly was dissolved in March following the Navnirman Andolan and could not be constituted before the presidential election in which Fakruddin Ali Ahmed was elected.

The value of the vote of a Member of Parliament has been fixed at 708 since the 1997 presidential election.

The value of vote of a Member of Parliament for the first Presidential election in 1952 was 494. It increased marginally to 496 in the 1957 presidential election, followed by 493 (1962), 576 (1967 and 1969).

The presidential elections were held in 1969 due to the death of President Zakir Hussain on May 3, 1969.

In the 1974 presidential election, the value of vote of an MP was 723. It has been fixed at 702 for the presidential elections from 1977 to 1992.