BJP gains assembly wins, boosting the party's presidential 2027 numbers. Photo: ANI.
Elections for the appointment of the next president in India will be held in 2027 after Droupadi Murmu, who was elected in 2022, completes her term. These elections are highly influenced by the results of the state assembly elections. The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP ) won two states and one Union Territory assembly elections, including the big win in West Bengal with over two-thirds of the seats. These results, while increasing the party’s numbers in the Rajya Sabha, have also significantly strengthened the BJP’s position ahead of next year’s presidential election. This is a big gain for BJP, particularly after it lost its absolute majority in the Lok Sabha elections, where its tally dropped from 303 seats in 2019 to 240 in 2024.
Under Articles 54 and 55 of the Constitution, the President of India is elected by an Electoral College. It comprises of elected members of both Houses of Parliament -the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha – as well as elected members of state legislative assemblies and Union Territories with legislatures.
Nominated MPs and MLAs are excluded from the process and do not have voting rights in the presidential election.
While Parliament and state assemblies together hold equal overall weight in the electoral college, the value of individual votes differs significantly. This is formulated with the thinking that population representation and federal equality should be balanced.
In the 2022 presidential election, each Member of Parliament’s vote carried a value of 700, a figure expected to remain broadly unchanged in the 2027 election as well.
In contrast, the value of an MLA’s vote varies across states and is determined using a formula based on the 1971 Census and the number of seats in each state assembly.
The overall structure of assemblies and census-based calculations ensures that these values remain largely stable unless there are major constitutional or demographic recalculations.
The BJP’s reduced strength in the Lok Sabha resulted in a loss of approximately 44,100 votes in the presidential electoral college, which had a total strength of 10,86,431 in the 2022 election.
Poor performance in the recently concluded assembly elections would have accentuated the problems for the BJP in the upcoming presidential elections.
The party was relying on allies like TDP and JD(U), who were seen as a weak link in the coalition and susceptible to breaking away from the government.
BJP has strengthened its position across the following states:
Haryana
Maharashtra
Bihar
West Bengal
Assam (retained)
Droupadi Murmu was elected as the 15th President of India in 2022, becoming the first tribal woman to hold the office and also the youngest President in the country’s history.
The next presidential election is due in 2027.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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