With UP, U'khand win, BJP inches closer to getting its choice

The reverberations of BJP's electoral victory yesterday will be felt far beyond Uttar Pradesh--in the hallowed halls of Rajya Sabha and the grand old Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Along the way, the political career of maverick BSP leader Mayawati, whose party could clinch a measly 19 of the 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, also looks like having received a shock.
The party's victory in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand has ensured that its share in the electoral college, which would elect the next President, goes up significantly.
The term of President Pranab Mukherjee is coming to an end on July 24 this year.

The notification for the Presidential election could be issued sometime in June.
The electoral college which elects the President through the system of proportional representation comprises of elected MPs and members of state legislative assemblies -- a total of 4896 voters including 4120 MLAs and 776 elected MPs.

While the Lok Sabha Speaker, an elected member, can vote, two nominated members from the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha and 12 nominated MPs in the Rajya Sabha cannot.
The value of an MLA's vote depends on the size of the state he or she represents. But the value of the vote of a MP is the same and does not vary.

The total value of the electoral college is 10,98,882.
Before the assembly polls, the NDA was short of 75,076 votes in terms of value. But after BJP's astounding performance in UP, Uttarakhand and Manipur, the gap will narrow down to 20,000 votes, an official in the Election Commission explained.
If it is able to get the support of parties like AIADMK with 134 MLAs and BJD with 117 MLAs, it can place the person of its choice in the Rashtrapati Bhawan easily.
In the 243-member Rajya Sabha, the BJP as of now has 56 members, while the Congress with 59 is the single largest party. With yesterday's win, the BJP is set to emerge as the single largest party in the Rajya Sabha too next year and the NDA's tally would be close to 100. It would, however, still be short of a majority in the upper house.

Mayawati's BSP, which finished a poor third with a tally of just 19 seats, will not be in a position to send her to Rajya Sabha again when her current term ends next year.