If a contest takes place to pick the next President of India, the election will be held on July 18 in Parliament and the state Assemblies.

According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India on Thursday, the votes will be counted here on July 21. Nominations can be filed from June 15 to 29.

The term of the incumbent, Ram Nath Kovind, ends on July 24.

The President is elected by members of an electoral college made up of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the state Assemblies.

Nominated members are not eligible to vote. The value of each MP’s vote is 700. The value of each MLA’s vote is proportional to the population of the state or Union Territory the member is from.

The total value of the votes for the presidential election of 2022 is 1,086,431 (MLAs 543,231 and MPs 543,200).

The BJP-led NDA is the largest bloc but it is still short of a majority and will need the support of legislators from other parties.

In response to a question, chief election commissioner Rajiv Kumar said: “Those in preventive detention can vote, and for the rest it depends on the parole rules (of the respective prison they are in).”

AAP minister Satyendar Jain in Delhi, and NCP MLAs Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh in Maharashtra are currently in custody for trial. A Mumbai court on Thursday denied the NCP leaders bail to vote in the Rajya Sabha polls there on Friday.

Unlike the general election, presidential polls take place with paper ballots in which voters mark their preferences with a specified pen that is given to them while voting.

The election is by secret ballot, and no whip can be issued by any party compelling its legislators to vote for a particular candidate.