India to choose next President on 19 July

New Delhi:   The Election Commission of India said the country’s 13th President will be chosen on 19 July, marking the official start of a process that will set the country’s political agenda.
All eyes will focus on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who is yet to disclose whether she will go with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee or vice-president Hamid Ansari, the front-runners in the race so far, or announce a surprise candidate like she did in 2007.

Not surprisingly, political activity was up a notch in the Capital, with political parties engaged in hectic back-room parleys to weigh their individual strategies in the polls, in which the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) seems to have the upper hand. Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee arrived in the Capital on Tuesday evening ahead of her meeting with Gandhi, holding discussions with Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. Both hold crucial swing votes—while the SP offers outside support, the TMC is a part of the UPA coalition.Newly appointed chief election commissioner V.S. Sampath announced that the notification for the presidential election will be issued on 16 June and the declaration of the winner, if there is an election, will take place on 22 July. The electoral college comprises members of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and state assemblies. Their vote value is based on the population of the state, which means using a multiplier. The winner will replace Pratibha Patil, who took charge as the country’s first woman President on 25 July 2007. Her term ends on 24 July.