Pranab Mukherjee won the Presidential Election 2012

Pranab Mukherjee was elected as the 13th President (in person) of India on 22 July 2012. Pranab Mukherjee defeated his rival PA Sangma with a huge margin as he secured nearly 69 percent of total valid votes. In an electoral college of 10.5 lakh, Pranab Mukherjee secured a vote value of 713763, while, PA Sangma managed to get only a vote value 315987. The victory of Pranab Mukherjee was announced by Returning Officer for the Presidential election VK Agnihotri. Pranab Mukherjee will be sworn in as the thirteenth President of India on 25 July 2012.

Out of the total 748 MPs, Pranab got the support of 527 while his rival, PA Sangma got 206 votes in his favour. Fifteen votes including that of Samjwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav were invalid. Of these, nine were to be in favour of Mukherjee while six for Sangma.

Each MP had a vote value of 708 in the Presidential Election 2012. There are a total of 776 voters in both the Houses of Parliament. The Electoral College also consisted of 4120 MLAs in the states.
The Election Commission of India had issued the notification for Presidential Election 2012 on 16 June 2012. 30 June 2012 was the last date for filing the nomination. Elections were held on 19 July 2012. Pranab Mukherjee and PA Sangma were two principle contestants of 14th Presidential Election.

Important facts related to Presidential elections:
Value of Vote of an MLA = State Population / (1000 X Total no. of elected MLA's)

On the basis of the above formula, the value of the vote of an MLA from UP has the highest value and that from Sikkim the lowest.

Value of Vote of an MP = Total value of votes of MLA's of all States / Total no. of elected MP's (LS + RS)

The 1971 census is currently under consideration.

The election is held through the system of proportional representation by means of the single - transferable vote by secret ballot.

The candidate who gets 50 percent of votes is considered elected.
Supreme Court looks into all disputes related to Presidential election.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, was the only President who served two tenures in the office.

VV Giri is the only person who was elected as the President of the country as an independent candidate in 1969.

Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the only person to be elected to the office of President of India unopposed, as no other candidate filed nomination for the post of the President. He was elected to the office of President in July 1977.

History of Rashtrapati Bhavan

• The splendour of the Rashtrapati Bhavan is multi-dimensional. It is a vast mansion and its architecture is breathtaking. More than these, it has a hallowed existence in the annals of democracy for being the residence of the President of the largest democracy in the world. Few official residential premises of the Head of the State in the world will match the Rashtrapati Bhavan in terms of its size, vastness and its magnificence.

• Rashtrapati Bhavan is the official home of the President of India. As the plan for New Delhi was developed, the Governor-General's residence was given an enormous scale and prominent position. The palace developed very similarly to the original sketches which Lutyens sent Herbert Baker from Simla on June 14, 1912. The British architect Edwin Landseer Lutyens design is grandly classical overall, with colours and details inspired by Indian architecture.

• Meanwhile, between 1911 and 1916, 300 families were evicted under the "1894 Land Acquisition Act" from Raisina and Malcha villages, thus clearing about 4,000 acres to begin the construction the Viceroy’s House. Lutyens and Baker who had been assigned to work on the Viceroy's House and the Secretariats, began on friendly terms. Baker had been assigned to work on the two secretariat buildings which were in front of Viceroy's House. The original plan was to have Viceroy's House on the top of Raisina Hill, with the secretariats lower down. It was later decided to build 400 yards back, and put both buildings on top of the plateau. While Lutyens wanted the Viceroy's house to be higher, he was forced to move it back from the intended position, which resulted in a dispute with Baker. After completion, Lutyens argued with Baker, because the view of the front of the building was obscured by the high angle of the road.

• Lutyens campaigned for its fixing, but was not able to get it to be changed. Lutyens wanted to make a long inclined grade all the way to Viceroy's house with retaining walls on either side. While this would give a view of the house from further back, it would also cut through the square between the secretariat buildings. The committee with Lutyens and Baker established in January 1914 said the grade was to be no steeper than 1 in 25, though it eventually was changed to 1 in 22, a steeper gradient which made it more difficult to see the Viceroy's palace. While Lutyens knew about the gradient, and the possibility that the Viceroy's palace would be obscured by the road, it is thought that Lutyens did not fully realise how little the front of the house would be visible. In 1916 the Imperial Delhi committee dismissed Lutyens's proposal to alter the gradient. Lutyens thought Baker was more concerned with making money and pleasing the government, rather than making a good architectural design.

• Lutyens travelled between India and England almost every year for twenty years, to work on the building of the Viceroy's house in both countries. Lutyens had to reduce the building size from 13,000,000 cubic feet (370,000 m3) to 8,500,000 cubic feet (240,000 m3). because of the budget restrictions of Lord Hardinge. While he had demanded that costs be reduced, he nevertheless wanted the house to retain a certain amount of ceremonial grandeur.

Rashtrapati Bhavan : Raisina Hills

Raisina Hill is an area of Lutyens' Delhi, New Delhi, housing India's most important government buildings, including Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India and the Secretariat building housing the Prime Minister's Office and several other important ministries.

 It is surrounded by other important buildings and structures, including the Parliament of India,Rajpath, Vijay Chowk and India Gate.

  The term "Raisina Hill" was coined following acquisition of land from 300 families from X and Malcha villages. About 4,000 acres of land was acquired under the "1894 Land Acquisition Act" to begin the construction of the Viceroy's House.

 The hill is a slightly elevated portion 226 metres (741 ft) high, about 18 metres (59 ft) higher than the surrounding area.

 In 1911 to transfer the capital of British India from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Delhi, a planning committee was formed, and a site 3 miles (5 km) south of the existing city of Delhi, around Raisina Hill, was chosen for the new administrative centre. A well-drained, healthy area between the Delhi Ridge and the Yamuna River, it provided ample room for expansion.