Indian presidential election, 2007
Encyclopedia
The Election Commission of India
Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India. Its mission is to conduct free and fair elections in India...

 held indirect 13th presidential elections of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 on 19 July 2007. Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Devisingh Patil is the 12th President of the Republic of India and first woman to hold the office. She was sworn in as President of India on 25 July 2007, succeeding Dr. A.P.J...

 with 638,116 votes won over her nearest rival Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was the 11th Vice-President of India. He served in that position from August 2002, when he was elected to a five-year term by the electoral college following the death of Krishan Kant, until he resigned on July 21, 2007, after losing the presidential election to Pratibha...

 who got 331,306 votes. This result meant that Pratibha Patil became the first female President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...

.

Official candidates

On [14 June, Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Devisingh Patil is the 12th President of the Republic of India and first woman to hold the office. She was sworn in as President of India on 25 July 2007, succeeding Dr. A.P.J...

, the governor of the state of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

, was declared by UPA as its candidate for the election. The Left and other allies of the United Progressive Alliance
United Progressive Alliance
The United Progressive Alliance is a ruling coalition of center-left political parties heading the government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress , which is currently the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha...

 (UPA) such as Bahujan Samaj Party
Bahujan Samaj Party
The Bahujan Samaj Party is a centrist national political party in India with socialist leanings. It was formed to chiefly represent Bahujans , referring to people from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes as well as Buddhists. The party claims to be inspired by the...

 (BSP) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...

 (DMK) announced their support on Patil's candidature. Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena , is a political party in India founded on 19 June 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray. It is currently headed by Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray...

, an ally of the National Democratic Alliance
National Democratic Alliance (India)
The National Democratic Alliance is a centre-right coalition of political parties in India. At the time of its formation in 1998, it was led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and had thirteen constituent parties. Its convenor is Sharad Yadav, and its honorary chairman is former prime minister Atal...

 (NDA) also supported Patil's candidature. The move came as a surprise as Patil's name was not mentioned among the probables by UPA so far.

Supported unofficially by the NDA, the then Vice President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was the 11th Vice-President of India. He served in that position from August 2002, when he was elected to a five-year term by the electoral college following the death of Krishan Kant, until he resigned on July 21, 2007, after losing the presidential election to Pratibha...

 filed his nomination as an independent candidate on 25 June 2007.

People who were considered

Amidst much speculation by various party leaders and media, a lot of names were tossed around as being probable or desired persons for holding the post. The incumbent Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was not favored by many, especially the Left parties, to receive a renewed mandate.

Initially Shivraj Patil
Shivraj Patil
Shivraj Vishwanath Patil is an Indian politician and current state Punjab governor and the Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh. Previously he had been the Speaker of the 11th Lok Sabha and served the Manmohan Singh cabinet as the Union Minister of Home Affairs...

 and Pranab Mukherjee
Pranab Mukherjee
Pranab Kumar Mukherjee is the current Finance Minister of India and leader of the current Lok Sabha.Mukherjee is a senior member of the Cabinet Committees on Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Parliamentary Affairs, Political Affairs, Prices, Security, Unique Identification Authority of India,...

 (both sitting cabinet ministers) emerged as the frontrunners for the candidature. Other names which did the rounds in the UPA camp include Sushil Kumar Shinde and Karan Singh
Karan Singh
Karan Singh is an MP in the Rajya Sabha, a senior member of the ruling Indian National Congress Party serving as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Department, President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations , India's Ambassador to UNESCO, Chairman of the Auroville Foundation and of the Temple...

. Pranab Mukherjee
Pranab Mukherjee
Pranab Kumar Mukherjee is the current Finance Minister of India and leader of the current Lok Sabha.Mukherjee is a senior member of the Cabinet Committees on Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Parliamentary Affairs, Political Affairs, Prices, Security, Unique Identification Authority of India,...

 was stated to be too critical at his current responsibility to stand for the Presidential elections and the Left parties opposed the candidature of Shivaraj Patil, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Karan Singh.

On the other hand, the NDA stated that it would support Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was the 11th Vice-President of India. He served in that position from August 2002, when he was elected to a five-year term by the electoral college following the death of Krishan Kant, until he resigned on July 21, 2007, after losing the presidential election to Pratibha...

, in case he decides to contest as an independent candidate.

Other probables such as N.R. Narayana Murthy who received significant media hype did not appear to have gathered any support from any of the sides. Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...

, a former prime minister who would have been NDA's probable candidate denied his desire to become the next president.

On 18 June, a set of parties with allegiance neither to UPA or NDA—All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its...

 (AIADMK), Telugu Desam Party
Telugu Desam Party
Telugu Desam Party or TDP is a regional political party in India's Andhra Pradesh state. It was founded by former Telugu film star N. T...

 (TDP) and Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party is a political party in India. It is based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It describes itself as a democratic socialist party...

 (SP)—formed an alliance called the United National Progressive Alliance and announced their support for a second term for the incumbent, Abdul Kalam. On 20 June a delegation of United National Progressive Alliance
United National Progressive Alliance
Sometimes known as the Third Front. For the Third Front in power between 1996 and 1998, see United Front . For the Third Front in power between 1989 and 1991, see National Front ....

 (UNPA) met Dr. Kalam with a request to contest the presidential elections, to which he replied that he is willing to contest only if there is a certainty of winning and that he is willing to wait for a few days for this certainty. However, he soon announced he would not run.

On 14 July 2007, J. Jayalalitha announced that the UNPA unanimously decided to abstain from the presidential polls. However, the Election Commission of India
Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India. Its mission is to conduct free and fair elections in India...

 held that the UNPA cannot ask its legislators to abstain from voting, quoting Article 171 C of the Constitution.

Process

As per the electoral calculation following are the number of votes for respective political parties.
Electoral College (India)
Electoral College (India)
-Composition:The college is made up of the following:* each member of the Rajya Sabha ;* each member of the Lok Sabha ;* each elected member of each state Legislative Assembly; and...

Name of party Combined value of vote
Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

281,015
Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...

253,269
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...

81,722
Bahujan Samaj Party
Bahujan Samaj Party
The Bahujan Samaj Party is a centrist national political party in India with socialist leanings. It was formed to chiefly represent Bahujans , referring to people from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes as well as Buddhists. The party claims to be inspired by the...

62,862
Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party is a political party in India. It is based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It describes itself as a democratic socialist party...

58,403
Rashtriya Janata Dal
Rashtriya Janata Dal
The Rashtriya Janata Dal is a political party in India, based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Laloo Prasad Yadav. The party came about as a result of Lalu Prasad Yadav, ex-president of Janata Dal, being evicted by Sharad Yadav, the then president, on corruption charges ...

32,727
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...

29,752
Janata Dal (United)
Janata Dal (United)
Janata Dal is a political party in India with political presence mainly in Bihar and Jharkhand. Janta Dal party mentor and patron is "Veteran Socialist leader" George Fernandes; George Fernandes broke away from the erstwhile Janata Dal and formed the Samata Party in 1994. Presently it is led...

27,057
Nationalist Congress Party
Nationalist Congress Party
The Nationalist Congress Party is a centre to centre left political party primarily based in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Background:...

23,788
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena
Shiv Sena , is a political party in India founded on 19 June 1966 by Balasaheb Thackeray. It is currently headed by Thackeray's son, Uddhav Thackeray...

22,178
Biju Janata Dal
Biju Janata Dal
The Biju Janata Dal is a state political party of the Indian state of Orissa led by Naveen Patnaik, son of former state chief minister Biju Patnaik. It was founded on 27 December 1997.-History:...

19,709
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its...

19,280
Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...

15,130
Telugu Desam Party
Telugu Desam Party
Telugu Desam Party or TDP is a regional political party in India's Andhra Pradesh state. It was founded by former Telugu film star N. T...

14,744
Shiromani Akali Dal
Shiromani Akali Dal
The Shiromani Akali Dal , translation: Supreme Akali Party) is a Sikh nationalist political parties based in Punjab. The current party to be recognized by the Election Commission of India is the one led by Parkash Singh Badal...

13,356
Janata Dal (Secular)
Janata Dal (Secular)
The Janata Dal is a Centre-left ಕನ್ನಡ: ಜನತಾ ದಳIndian political party led by former Prime Minister of India H.D. Deve Gowda.The party recognized as state party in the states of Karnataka and Kerala . It was formed in July 1999 by the split of Janata Dal party. It has political presence mainly in...

11,956
Pattali Makkal Katchi
Pattali Makkal Katchi
Paattali Makkal Katchi is a Tamil political party.-History:PMK was founded by Dr. S. Ramdoss and the state president is G. K. Mani. Ramdoss had earlier worked with the Vanniyar Sangham founded by him in 1980. PMK is based amongst the Most Backward Class Vanniyakula Kshatriyas community...

8,156
Trinamool Congress 8,070
Telangana Rashtra Samithi
Telangana Rashtra Samithi
Telangana Rashtra Samithi is a regional separatist political party in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.-Ideology:Telangana Rashtra Samithi's main aim is to separate Telangana region from Andhra Pradesh and to regain regional autonomy as it existed before the formation of Andhra Pradesh...

7,388
All India Forward Bloc
All India Forward Bloc
The All India Forward Bloc is a leftwing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. The party re-established as an independent political party after the independence of India...

7,365
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is a state political party in the state Jharkhand, India. It has a strength of 2 in the 15th Lok Sabha. Shibu Soren is the president of JMM...

7,128
Revolutionary Socialist Party
Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)
Revolutionary Socialist Party is a Marxist-Leninist political party in India. The party was founded on March 19, 1940 and has its roots in the Bengali liberation movement Anushilan Samiti and the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army. The party got around 0,4% of the votes and three seats in the Lok...

6,360
Rashtriya Lok Dal
Rashtriya Lok Dal
Rashtriya Lok Dal is a political party in India. Ajit Singh is the party president. He is carrying on the political legacy of Charan Singh and the original Lok Dal..Ch. Charan Singh was a great farmer leader and was a former Prime Minister of India...

4,912
Asom Gana Parishad
Asom Gana Parishad
Asom Gana Parishad is a state political party in Assam, India. The AGP was formed after the historic Assam Accord of 1985 when Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was elected as the youngest chief minister of the country...

4,908
Lok Jan Shakti Party 4,742
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference
The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference is a State political party in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Led at the time of Indian Independence in 1947 by Sheikh Abdullah, it dominated electoral politics in the state for many decades...

4,140
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a political party in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu formed in 1994 by Mr. V. Gopalswamy , a member of Rajyasabha and a party activitist of DMK. Mr. V. Gopalsamy grew in the party from his student days. He actively participated in the party agitations and...

3,904
Indian National Lok Dal
Indian National Lok Dal
Indian National Lok Dal, a political party in India, based in the state of Haryana is the principal opposition party in Haryana. The party president is Om Prakash Chautala. Ajay Singh Chautala is its Secretary General. The party was a member of the National Democratic Alliance , and thus part of...

2,940
Jammu & Kashmir People's Democratic Party 2,568
Indian Union Muslim League
Indian Union Muslim League
Indian Union Muslim League is a state political party in the state of Kerala, India. The chief support base of the party falls inside northern and central Kerala...

2,480
Sikkim Democratic Front
Sikkim Democratic Front
Sikkim Democratic Front is a political party in the Indian state of Sikkim. The party was founded by Pawan Kumar Chamling in 1993. It has ruled the state since 1994 with Pawan Kumar Chamling as the chief minister. The party consolidated its position sweeping the 1999 and 2004 state elections. It...

1,633
Nagaland People's Front
Nagaland People's Front
The Nagaland People's Front is a political party in the Indian state of Nagaland. 2003-2008 it headed the state government of Nagaland together with Bharatiya Janata Party, as part of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland. Dr. Shürhozelie is the president of the party...

1,587
Mizo National Front
Mizo National Front
Mizo National Front is a regional political party in Mizoram, India. MNF emerged out of the Mizo National Famine Front, which was formed by Pu Laldenga to protest against the inaction of the Indian central government towards the famine situation in the Mizo areas of the Assam state in 1959. It...

1,584
Kerala Congress
Kerala Congress
The Kerala Congress is a recognized State political party in Kerala, India. The party was founded by K. M. George in October 1964 after a group of legislators decided to break from the Indian National Congress...

1,316
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen also AIMIM or MIM , is a center -right Muslim political party in India. The Hyderabad is the stronghold of AIMIM. It has retained Hyderabad Lok Sabha parliament seat in 2009 election...

1,300
Assam United Democratic Front
Assam United Democratic Front
All India United Democratic Front also known as AIUDF and in Assamese Sarba Bharatiya Sanyukta Ganatantric Marcha is a state political party in the state of Assam , India. It was formerly known as Assam United Democratic Front or AUDF....

1,160
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation
Communist Party of India Liberation is a communist political party in India.Communist Party of India was formed in 1969 by the All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries, who had split from Communist Party of India in 1967...

1,041
Republican Party of India (Athvale)
Republican Party of India (Athvale)
The Republican Party of India is a political party in India, a splinter group of the old Ambedkarite Republican Party of India. The president of the party is Ramdas Athvale....

883
Swatantra Bharat Paksh 883
Kerala Congress (Mani) 760
Samata Party
Samata Party
The Samata Party is a political party in India. Initially formed as an offshoot of the Janata Dal in 1994 by Nitish Kumar and George Fernandes. The reason given was that the Janata Dal had shifted to casteism...

717
Bharatiya Navshakti Party
Bharatiya Navshakti Party
Bharatiya Navshakti Party , is a political party in India. BNP is active in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and the Adivasi areas in southern and central Gujarat...

708
Indian Federal Democratic Party
Indian Federal Democratic Party
The Indian Federal Democratic Party was a political party in India. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections IFDP won one seat from Kerala P.C. THOMAS Defeating Jose K Mani of Kerala Congress . That was the first parliamentary electoral victory of an National Democratic Alliance member in the state.Later,...

708
National Loktantrik Party
National Loktantrik Party
National Loktantrik Party has been merged in Samajwadi Party on 15 March 2010 when its leader Dr Masood Ahmad joined the Samajwadi in the presence of Shri Mulayam Singh national president of the party....

708
Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)
Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)
Samajwadi Janata Party is a political party in India founded by former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar Singh known as Chandra Shekhar and led by him until his death on July 8, 2007...

708
Jan Surajya Shakti 700
West Bengal Socialist Party
West Bengal Socialist Party
West Bengal Socialist Party was a political party in the Indian state of West Bengal. WBSP was formed when the Bengali socialists in the then Janata Party split in the beginning of the 1980s . WBSP was a part of Left Front...

604
Gorkhaland National Liberation Front 453
Rashtriya Parivartan Dal
Rashtriya Parivartan Dal
Rashtriya Parivartan Dal is a political party in India led by D. P. Yadav.RPD have 2 seats in UP State Assembly. Party President is D. P...

416
Gondvana Ganatantra Party 393
United Goans Democratic Party
United Goans Democratic Party
United Goans Democratic Party is one of two formerly dominant political parties in the Indian state of Goa. UGDP has its base amongst the Christian part of the population....

372
All Jharkhand Students Union
All Jharkhand Students Union
All Jharkhand Students Union, is a state political party of Jharkhand state, India. AJSU was founded June 22, 1986, modelled after All Assam Students Union. The founders of AJSU were disillusioned with the previous Jharkhandi political parties, and wanted more militant agitations.AJSU organized...

352
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi 352
Peasants and Workers Party of India
Peasants and Workers Party of India
Peasants and Workers Party of India , is a marxist political party in Maharashtra, India. The party was founded in 1949, having its roots from the pre-Independence period and has around 10,000 members. The influence of the party is largely limited to three districts.Member of legislative council of...

350
Orissa Gana Parishad
Orissa Gana Parishad
Orissa Gana Parishad , a political party in the Indian state of Orissa, a splinter-group of Biju Janata Dal. The party was founded on October 29, 2000. The president of OGP is Bijoy Mahapatra. Mahapatra had been expelled from BJD in February 2000 on corruption charges...

298
Janata Party
Janata Party
The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...

296
Jammu & Kashmir National Panthers Party 288
Rashtriya Samanta Dal
Rashtriya Samanta Dal
Rashtriya Samanta Dal, a political party in India, based in the Hindi belt. It is a splinter-group of the Bahujan Samaj Party. The party is led by Sukhlal Kushwah.The party is based amongst the Khushwaha caste community....

262
Akhil Bharatiya Loktantrik Congress 208
Bharatiya Jan Shakti 208
Jan Morcha
Jan Morcha
The Jan Morcha was founded by V. P. Singh when he was dismissed from his post of Defence Minister and subsequently left the Congress Party in 1987.Together with Arun Nehru, Arif Mohammed Khan, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, V. C...

208
Rashtriya Swabhimaan Party 208
Uttar Pradesh United Democratic Front 208
Uttarakhand Kranti Dal
Uttarakhand Kranti Dal
The Uttarakhand Kranti Dal is a regional political party in India. It bills itself as the only regional party of the Uttarakhand Himalayas, in contrast to the national parties that dominate the region's politics....

192
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam is a regional political party formed by Tamil film actor Vijayakanth in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu along the lines of the regional Dravidian political parties. He formally announced party formation on September 14, 2005 at Madurai...

176
Jharkhand Party
Jharkhand Party
Jharkhand Party, a political party in India. The party was founded on March 5, 1949 at a large conference in Ranchi. Jaipal Singh was elected president and Idsen Deba general secretary. JKP grew out of the demand for a separate Jharkhand state....

176
Akhil Bharitiya Sena 175
Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangha 175
Akhil Jan Vikas Party 173
Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra
Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra
The Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra is a political party in the Indian state of Tripura. INPT is led by Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl .-History:...

156
United Democratic Party
United Democratic Party
There are several political parties called the United Democratic Party.* United Democratic Party * United Democratic Party * United Democratic Party, Cyprus* United Democratic Party...

153
Congress (Secular)
Congress (Secular)
Congress , is a political party in Kerala, India, formed after the split in Nationalist Congress Party in Kerala. It was led by Kadannappally Ramachandran. It has one MLA Kadannappally Ramachandran from Kannur district. Currently it has very small number of members....

152
Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran)
Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran)
Democratic Indira Congress is a defunct political party in Kerala, India. DIC was founded at a meeting in Thrissur by the K. Karunakuran faction of the Indian National Congress on May 1, 2005. Initially it was called National Congress , but the name was changed DIC for registration purposes in...

152
Indian National League
Indian National League
The Indian National League is a Muslim-based political party in India, mainly active in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. INL is a splinter-group of the Indian Union Muslim League...

152
JSS 152
Kerala Congress (Balakrishnan) 152
Kerala Congress (Secular)
Kerala Congress (Secular)
Kerala Congress was a faction of Kerala Congress led by the MLA P.C. George in the State of Kerala, India. Other important leaders of the party were T.S. John and Jacob Thomas Arikupuram.In Oct 2009, the party merged with Kerala Congress ....

152
Democratic Socialist Party 151
Jharkhand Party (Naren) 151
Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha
Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha
Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha is a regional political party in Karnataka, India. KCVP has a staunch pro-Kannada position, for example in the Kaveri river water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu or against any bifurcation of the state. The party is led by Vatal Nagaraj....

131
Kannada Nadu Party
Kannada Nadu Party
Kannada Nadu Party is a political party in Karnataka,founded by vijay sankashwar India. It is now merged into Janata Dal .it contested election in 2006...

131
Republican Party of India
Republican Party of India
The Republican Party of India is a political party in India. It has its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by Dr. Ambedkar. The main base of RPI has traditionally been in Maharashtra....

131
Rajasthan Samajik Nyaya Manch 129
Asom Gana Parishad (Pragatishel) 116
Autonomous State Demand Committee
Autonomous State Demand Committee
Autonomous State Demand Committee, originally the Peoples Democratic Front, was set up as a mass organization of the Communist Party of India Liberation in order to fight for statehood for the Karbi Anlong region in the Indian state Assam. Several elections to the Lok Sabha and the District...

116
Loko Sanmilon 116
Manipur People's Party 90
Democratic Movement
Democratic Movement
Democratic Movement may refer to:*Democratic Movement *Democratic Movement *Democratic Movement *Democratic Movement *Democratic Movement *Democratic Movement...

72
Jammu & Kashmir Awami League 72
Meghalaya Democratic Party
Meghalaya Democratic Party
The Meghalaya Democratic Party is a political party recognised in the India state of Meghalaya. Its symbol is the bicycle, and chief is M.D. Mukhim. The MDF is aligned neither with the NDA nor with the UPA....

68
National People's Party
National People's Party
National People's Party may refer to:* National Peoples Party* Rashtriya Janata Dal* Rashtriya Lok Dal* National People's Party...

54
Himachal Vikas Congress
Himachal Vikas Congress
Himachal Vikas Congress , was a regional political party in Himachal Pradesh, India. HVC was formed when Sukh Ram split from the Indian National Congress. HVC merged with Congress in 2004.-External links:*...

51
Loktantrik Morcha Himachal Pradesh 51
Nationalist Democratic Movement
Nationalist Democratic Movement
The Nationalist Democratic Movement is a political part based in the Nagaland, India. It is recognised as a state party and its chief is K.L. Chishi. Party symbol is a torch ....

45
Puducherry Munnetra Congress
Puducherry Munnetra Congress
Puducherry Munnetra Congress is a political party in India active in the Union Territory of Pondicherry . It was formed by P...

48
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party was Goa's first ruling party after the end of Portuguese colonial rule in 1961. In the first elections held after India took over the former Portuguese colony, it ascended to power in December 1963 and stayed on, till being ousted from power by defections in early...

40
Save Goa Front 40
Hill State People's Party 34
Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement
Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement
The Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement is a political party formed recently in Meghalaya, India. Its president and leader is Mr. P. Lyngdoh, a former student’s union leader...

34
Mizoram People's Conference
Mizoram People's Conference
Mizoram People's Conference, a regional political party in Mizoram, India. MPC was formed by Brig Thenphunga Sailo on April 17, 1975. Sailo is the party chairman and was the chief minister of Mizoram from 1979 to 1984...

24
Arunachal Congress
Arunachal Congress
Arunachal Congress is a regional political party in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. AC was founded in September 1996 as a splinter-group of Indian National Congress, when the local party leader and Chief Minister Gegong Apang revolted against the then Congress leader P.V. Narasimha Rao...

16
Zoram Nationalist Party
Zoram Nationalist Party
Zoram Nationalist Party is recognized as the state political party in Mizoram, India.The party known as formerly Mizo National Front . It is led by former MP Lalduhoma. MNF was formed in 1997 through a split in the Mizo National Front....

16
Hmar People's Convention
Hmar People's Convention
The Hmar People's Convention was established as a political party in 1986. The group advocates for the rights of members of the Hmar tribe , one of the smaller tribes of northeastern India....

8
Maraland Democratic Front
Maraland Democratic Front
Maraland Democratic Front is a regional political party in the Indian state of Mizoram. The party is active amongst the Mara people in the southern part of the state...

8
Independents 32,202
Nominated Rajya Sabha members 6,372

Figures are based upon http://archive.eci.gov.in and http://rajyasabha.nic.in. Figure on Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

 and Vidhan Sabha
Vidhan Sabha
The Vidhan Sabha or the Legislative Assembly is the lower house or the sole house of the provincial legislature in the different states of India. The same name is also used for the lower house of the legislatures for two of the union territories, Delhi and Pondicherry...

 seats do not take into consideration splits, mergers, defections, expulsions and bye-elections after general elections have been held.

Know Pratibha Patil

Pratibha Patil is part of the political campaign launched by the Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...

 (BJP) for the presidential election of 2007. It consists of a website and a PDF booklet (titled "Presidential Election 2007"), created by the BJP under the banner of Project India. Both contain the party's allegation in the form of a compilation of articles from various media. While announcing the website at a press conference, the BJP party general secretary Arun Jaitley
Arun Jaitley
Arun Jaitley is a prominent Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which is currently the largest Opposition party in India...

 also distributed a printed form of the booklet and described it as a compilation of articles / editorials from newspapers on the Presidential contest.

The stated objective of the site is to "educate the people about Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Devisingh Patil is the 12th President of the Republic of India and first woman to hold the office. She was sworn in as President of India on 25 July 2007, succeeding Dr. A.P.J...

, the nominee of UPA and Indian left for Indian presidential election scheduled on 19 July 2007". To support this, the website consists of various sections like 'Cartoon,' 'Pratibhaspeak' and 'UPA Doublespeak' and includes links to video clippings and articles that refer to the various allegations levelled against Pratibha Patil.

The website declares :
The BJP leader Arun Jaitley
Arun Jaitley
Arun Jaitley is a prominent Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which is currently the largest Opposition party in India...

 talking to news-persons called the website a "campaign to provide an informed choice to the electorate (the electoral college)". "The voter has a right to the information about the candidate he is voting for. This effort is intended for an informed choice of the electorate," Jaitley said.

Arun Jaitley did not respond when asked what would happen to the right of information
Right to Information Act
The Right to Information Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of India "to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens." The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has its own act...

 when people are "informed" only about one of the two Presidential candidates. He said the website would vanish after 21 July when the Presidential election result will be out.

However the website can still be viewed via archive.org

A Congress spokesperson commented:

Divided opinion on campaign

The Times of India, a national Indian daily, reported that a section of BJP leaders had initially looked divided over supporting this campaign against Pratibha Patil. Party chief Rajnath Singh seemed reluctant to be drawn into a "personal attack" while senior party leader L. K. Advani spoke at length on the "pliant President" issue at the party's national executive last month. Daily News and Analysis also reported on the apparent differences among senior leaders on this campaign and had this quote:

Results

  MPs MLAs Total
Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Devisingh Patil is the 12th President of the Republic of India and first woman to hold the office. She was sworn in as President of India on 25 July 2007, succeeding Dr. A.P.J...

312,936 325,180 638,116
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was the 11th Vice-President of India. He served in that position from August 2002, when he was elected to a five-year term by the electoral college following the death of Krishan Kant, until he resigned on July 21, 2007, after losing the presidential election to Pratibha...

164,256 167,050 331,306


Source:

External links

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