Want to know how India will get its 14th President? Here's a primer

About 4,896 lawmakers will vote today to pick the next President of India today. The buzz right now in Parliament's corridors is only about the margin of victory for the ruling party candidate Ram Nath Kovind as the numbers are stacked against Meira Kumar, UPA's choice for Raisina Hill.

The voting, which started at 10 am today, will finish by 5 pm. Want to know how India will get it's 14th president? Here's a primer

1. The President is elected by an electoral college. The college comprises all the MPs and MLAs.

2. The total strength of the electoral college is 10,98,903 votes, with each Parliamentarian carrying a vote value of 708. The vote weight of a member depends on the size and population of their representative state.

3. A candidate must secure 50 per cent-plus votes to win the poll.


4. Paper ballots will be used for the entire election procedure. Votes will be valid only if the special violet ink pen is used to vote. MPs vote will go to Green ballots and for MLAs, there will be Pink ballots.

5. Ballot boxes from the States will be flown and stored in Room 62 of Parliament.

6.The counting of votes will take place on July 20 in Delhi. President Pranab Mukherjee's term expires on July 25.

7. The election for the post of Vice President is scheduled for August 5. Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the joint Opposition candidate for the post , will file his nomination papers on Tuesday.