Legislators to elect next president today

Trinamool, AGP to abstain, SP leaves it to members.

Ballot papers are ready, the steps of Parliament House are being polished and buffed and there is an air of suppressed excitement as India gets ready to vote to elect its 13th president tomorrow.

The election will take place in Room 62 of Parliament for MPs and in state assemblies for MLAs. Counting will be held on July 21 and the result declared the same day. The new president will take over on July 25.

With APJ Abdul Kalam refusing to run for a re-election because of "uncertainty" over victory, the scene is set for a fierce contest between UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil and NDA nominee Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

This election is unusual in several ways. For one, this is possibly the first presidential election where an entire group of parties, the Third Front, has asked its MPs to abstain because it thinks that neither candidate is fit to be president.

An Election Commission ruling says individuals have the right to abstain. However, parties cannot ask their legislators not to vote. According to the BJP, the Third Front will violate Schedule 10 of the Constitution if its parties ask their members not to note.

The violation of such a whip can lead to suspension from the party. Though the BJP said it was not sure how many Third Front parties would follow the diktat and abstain, the Asom Gana Parishad today announced it would abstain.

The BJP's ally, the Trinamool Congress, also decided to abstain, while the Samajwadi Party said it had left to its members to decide whether to vote or not. Asked the reason for his silence, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "Tufan aane se pehle bhi shanti rahti hai (There is a lull before a storm)."

Around 4,500 MPs and state legislators are eligible to vote - 4,120 MLAs and 776 MPs. The total value of the electoral college is 1.09 million votes. The value of an MP's vote is 708 while that of an MLA depends on the population of the state he represents. The ruling alliance has 631,464 votes and NDA 314,411. The Third Front has 105,000 votes. Unlike in the general elections, here the voters have to mention first and second preference candidates.

Although Patil's victory is a foregone conclusion, the BJP is still hoping for a miracle.

Although Patil, until recently the Rajasthan governor, and Shekhawat, one of India's most experienced politicians, have not indulged in any mudslinging, their supporters appear to have had no such reservations.

The BJP has even launched a website, knowpratibhapatil.com, to highlight charges of financial impropriety and shielding a brother who is facing murder charges. The Congress has denounced Shekhawat for not quitting the post of vice-president before entering the fray.

One reason for Patil's plight is her being a last-minute choice after the Left parties, which extend crucial support to the government, vetoed Congress President Sonia Gandhi's first choices.

This is in sharp contrast to 2002, when Kalam, a scientist, was elected jointly by the ruling and opposition parties, with only the Left refusing to back him.