History and Politics of Indian Presidents – Vivek Kumar Srivastava

On January 24, 1950 when India was on the eve of becoming a Republic, Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected as the President of the Republic of India. H.V.R. lyengar, Returning Officer and Secretary, Constitutent Assembly, announced that only one nomination paper was received for the office of the President of India. His nomination was proposed by Pandit Nehru and seconded by Sardar Patel. Second May is a very important day in the constitutional history of India as on this day the election of the first President was organised in 1952. There were five candidates which included Dr Rajendra Prasad, K.T. Shah, Thatte Lakshman Ganesh, Hari Ram and Krishna Kumar Chatterjee.

The election of the first President was an important event. It aimed to establish an institution of parliamentary democracy which reflected the highest position under the republic, a position available to all citizens of India. Pandit Nehru, Maulana Azad and Satyendra Nath Sinha proposed the paper to the Returning Officer, M.N. Kaul, Secretary to Parliament, though prior to it Nehru had taken permission from Rajendra Prasad for his proposed name for the post. Dr Rajendra Prasad entered the office of the President on May 13, 1952.

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