In the Presidential Election, 2022, the vote value of each member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly was –
- (1)149
- (2)132
- (3)129
- (4)116
Answer
Why
Correct — option (3), 129.
Article 55(2) of the Constitution fixes the value of an MLA's vote in the Presidential election. The population used is the 1971 census, which the Explanation to Article 55 keeps in use until figures of the first census after 2026 are published.
Worked for Rajasthan in 2022, with its 1971 census population and 200 elected MLAs:
Step 1 — divide the 1971 population by the elected MLAs: 2,57,65,806 ÷ 200 = 1,28,829.03
Step 2 — count the multiples of one thousand (Article 55(2)(a)): 128, remainder 829
Step 3 — the remainder is not less than 500, so add one (Article 55(2)(b)): 129
Each of Rajasthan's 200 MLAs held a vote worth 129, so the Assembly's votes together were worth 129 × 200 = 25,800. The Election Commission's statement of the value of votes for the 2022 election gives the same figures: population 2,57,65,806, value 129, total 25,800.
Population ÷ elected MLAs, counted in thousands, plus one when the remainder is 500 or more — that is an MLA's vote value.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)149 — 149 is too high for Rajasthan. With 200 MLAs, a value of 149 needs a quotient of at least 1,48,500 and below 1,49,500 — a 1971 population of about 2.97 to 2.99 crore.
Rajasthan's 1971 population of 2,57,65,806 gives a quotient of 1,28,829 and a value of 129. In the Election Commission's 2022 statement, 149 is Odisha's value.
- (2)132 — 132 needs a quotient of at least 1,31,500 and below 1,32,500 — a population of about 2.63 to 2.65 crore for 200 MLAs, more than Rajasthan's 1971 figure.
Rounding cannot close that gap. The remainder rule in Article 55(2)(b) only decides between 128 and 129. In the Election Commission's 2022 statement, 132 is Telangana's value.
- (4)116 — 116 is too low. It needs a quotient of at least 1,15,500 and below 1,16,500 — a population of about 2.31 to 2.33 crore for 200 MLAs.
Rajasthan's 1971 population is larger than that, so its value is 129. In the Election Commission's 2022 statement, 116 is the value for Assam and for Punjab.
Concept
The President is elected by an electoral college of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and of the State Legislative Assemblies (Article 54). Its Explanation counts Delhi and Puducherry as States for this purpose.
Votes are weighted. Article 55(1) asks for uniformity in the scale of representation of the States, and Article 55(2) also seeks parity between the States as a whole and the Union. An MLA's value is the State's population ÷ elected MLAs, counted in thousands, with a remainder of 500 or more adding one.
An MP's value is the total value of all MLAs' votes divided by the number of elected MPs, with fractions over one-half counted as one (Article 55(2)(c)). For 2022 the Election Commission worked it out as 5,43,231 ÷ 776 = 700.
Voting is by proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, by secret ballot (Article 55(3)).
RPSC's syllabus lists "President, Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Parliament, Supreme Court & Judicial Review." under the Indian Political System, and the Legislative Assembly under Rajasthan's State Political System. The Presidential election joins the two: Rajasthan's MLAs are part of the electoral college.
The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly's page on the Presidential Election, 2022 gives the schedule: notification on 15 June 2022, poll (if necessary) on 18 July 2022 and counting on 21 July 2022.
Because the population figure is frozen at 1971, Rajasthan's value stays 129 for as long as the Assembly has 200 elected members and the freeze lasts.
Key facts
- Article 55(2)(a): an MLA's vote value is the State's population divided by its elected MLAs, counted in multiples of one thousand.
- Article 55(2)(b): if the remainder after those multiples is 500 or more, the value rises by one.
- The population used is the 1971 census until figures of the first census taken after 2026 are published.
- In the 2022 Presidential election each Rajasthan MLA's vote was worth 129 (2,57,65,806 ÷ 200 = 1,28,829).
- The 2022 poll was held on 18 July 2022 and counted on 21 July 2022; the Election Commission put each MP's vote at 700.
Article 55(2)(a) and (b) of the Constitution; the population and result match the Election Commission's 2022 statement of the value of votes.
Study next
Common traps
- Counting multiples of one hundred instead of one thousand. That would give 1,288 for Rajasthan.
- Using the 2011 census. The Explanation to Article 55 keeps the 1971 figure until the first census after 2026 is published.
- Forgetting the remainder rule. The quotient 1,28,829 leaves a remainder of 829, which is 500 or more, so the value is 129, not 128.
A question can ask for the value of an MLA's vote in a particular State at a Presidential election, as here.
A question can also give the steps of the formula as statements and ask which is incorrect, or ask which census the calculation uses.
Related PYQs
Which of the following statement is incorrect regarding the election of the President of India ?
- (1) The President of India is elected by the members of an Electoral College consisting of (a) the elected members of both the Houses of Parliament and (b) the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States and the Union Territories with Legislative Assembly.
- (2) Value of vote for each of the members of the Electoral College is decided based on the population census of 1971 and it will continue to be so till population of the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published.
- (3) The elections are held in accordance with the system of Proportional Representation by means of single transferable vote.
- (4) Every elected member of the Legislative Assembly of a State shall have as many votes as there are multiples of one hundred in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the State by the total number of the elected members of the Assembly.
Answer(4)
Same Article 55 formula: it asks for the incorrect statement about the Presidential election, and RPSC's key marks the statement that uses multiples of one hundred instead of one thousand (option (4)). This question applies the formula to Rajasthan's MLAs in 2022.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Suppose a State's 1971 population was 1,00,00,000 and its Legislative Assembly had 60 elected members. Under Article 55(2), what would be the value of each MLA's vote in the Presidential election?
- (a)166
- (b)167
- (c)1,666
- (d)60
Answer(2) — 1,00,00,000 ÷ 60 = 1,66,666.67; that is 166 thousands with a remainder of 666.67, which is 500 or more, so the value is 167. 166 (1) forgets the remainder rule. 1,666 (3) counts multiples of one hundred instead of one thousand. 60 (4) is the number of members, not the value. - practice — not a real PYQ
Population figures of which census were used to fix the value of votes in the Presidential election of 2022?
- (a)1971
- (b)2001
- (c)2011
- (d)1951
Answer(1) — the Explanation to Article 55 keeps the 1971 census in use until figures of the first census after 2026 are published. 2001 (2) and 2011 (3) were later censuses but are not used while that freeze lasts. 1951 (4) is not the census the Explanation names.