RAS question
The President of India is elected by:
Correct answer: (B) An electoral college consisting of elected members of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies.
The President of India is elected by an electoral college made up of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States, including the National Capital Territory of Delhi and Puducherry for this purpose.
Explanation
Article 54 of the Constitution fixes the President's election as an indirect election through a defined electoral college, not through a popular vote. That college consists of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States. The constitutional explanation to Article 54 also treats the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union territory of Puducherry as States for this election. This is why option B is the precise answer: it captures both the parliamentary and State Assembly components, while keeping the focus on elected members. Nominated members and members of Legislative Councils are outside this Article 54 formulation, so they do not participate in this electoral college.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) It stops at members of both Houses of Parliament and leaves out the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies, who are expressly part of the Article 54 electoral college.
- (C) It is too broad because Article 54 refers to elected members, not all members, and it does not include Legislative Council members in the electoral college.
- (D) The President is not chosen by direct election by the people; Article 54 provides for election by an electoral college.
Concept
This tests the constitutional design of India's Union executive, especially Articles 54 and 55 on presidential election. RAS repeatedly asks this because the trap lies in distinguishing elected MPs and MLAs from nominated members, MLCs and direct voters.