2022 Indian presidential election

Article 58 of the constitution sets the qualifications one must meet to be eligible to the office of the president. A president must be:

• a citizen of India
• of 35 years of age or above
• qualified to become a member of the Lok Sabha

Ram Nath Kovind was elected President in 2017 Indian presidential election, and is expected to remain in office till 25 July 2022. During his presidency, he made trips to 28 countries, each for state visit. He has received the highest State honors from six countries, and has held the office during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. He is a potential candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party, but has not been nominated by the party yet.

The President of India is indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both houses of parliament, the elected members of the Legislative assemblies of the 28 states and the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir. As of 2021, the electoral college comprises 776 MPs and 4,120 MLAs. The system assigns varying numbers of votes to these electoral college members, such that the total weight of MPs and those of MLAs is roughly equal and that the voting power of states and territories are proportional to their population. Overall the members of the electoral college were eligible to cast 1,098,903 votes, yielding a threshold for a majority of 549,452 votes.

The nomination of a candidate for election to the office of the President must be subscribed by at least 50 electors as proposers and 50 electors as seconders. The election is held by means of a secret ballot under the Instant-runoff voting system.[1] The manner of election of President is provided by Article 55 of the Constitution.

Article 58 of the Indian Constitution provides that the President and Vice President of India must be natural-born citizens of India, and at least 35 years old. Candidates for the presidency typically seek the nomination of one of the political parties, in which case each party devises a method (such as a primary election) to choose the candidate the party deems best suited to run for the position. Traditionally, the primary elections are indirect elections where voters cast ballots for a slate of party delegates pledged to a particular candidate. The party's delegates then officially nominate a candidate to run on the party's behalf. The general election in July is also an indirect election, where voters cast ballots for a slate of members of the Electoral College; these electors in turn directly elect the president and vice president.

The returning officer for the election was Anoop Mishra, the Secretary General of Lok Sabha.

• Elections to 80 Rajya Sabha seats are due in 2022, before the presidential election.

As of April 2021, the following people have been subjects of discussion in media about their potential candidacy for Presidency.

National Democratic Alliance

• Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar (2015–present)[2]
• Capt. Amarinder Singh, Former Chief Minister of Punjab (2002–2007 & 2017–2021)[2]

United Progressive Alliance

• Karan Singh, former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. (1965-1967)[3]
• Sharad Pawar, Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra (2014–present).[2]

Third Front

• Mayawati, Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (1993–1996, 1998–2000 & 2007–2012)[2]
• K. Chandrashekar Rao, Chief Minister of Telangana (2014–present)[2]
• Bhim Singh, President of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party.[4]

• 
  Chief Minister
  Nitish Kumar
  of Bihar
• 
  Former Chief Minister
  Amarinder Singh
  of Punjab
• 
  Former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.
  Karan Singh
  from Jammu and Kashmir
• 
  Rajya Sabha MP
  Sharad Pawar
  from Maharashtra
• 
  Former Chief Minister
  Mayawati
  of Uttar Pradesh
• 
  President of Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party.
  Bhim Singh
  from Jammu and Kashmir

• List of presidents of India
• 2022 Indian vice presidential election