Presidential Polls: The Journey to the White House and Rashtrapati Bhavan

Guest post by Madhu Nair
Just a day ago the elected representatives of the Republic of India cast their vote to elect the 13th President of the country. While Presidential polls have so far been a low key affair, the recent showdown between the ruling Congress party and the self-declared Presidential nominee PA Sangma has taken the whole process to an all new level. The government’s nominee and Ex-Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee has won hands down, Ex-Speaker Mr. Sangma had put up a very brave front. The Presidential polls have never been such a talked about issue as the chair was usually seen as a rubber stamp post until Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam changed the face of Presidency. His reservations in the Office of Profit bill had the government see red and since then all political parties have been actively involved in the process.
While the Indians take to the button, the stage is set for a heated showdown in the United States between President Barack Obama, the Democrat nominee and Mitt Romney, Former Governor of Massachusetts and the Republican candidate. With the Supreme Court giving thumbs up to the ambitious healthcare reform or Obamacare, the President is beaming with confidence which has left the Republicans fuming. Issues like immigration, economy, foreign policy, energy and environmental affairs have become the burning topics where both Obama and Romney have been trying to score points one over the other. While Romney had given Obama a run for his money initially, recent polls indicate the needle to be slightly in favor of President Obama. But that can never cast a shadow over the fight between the two most powerful people in the country. Finally, it will all come down to November when they slug it out in the fight round.
Though both India and America share being the largest democracies in the world, the chair of the President has a lot of difference. While the American President controls the government and has a greater role in governance, the President of India has limited powers when it comes to having a say in the governance of the country. As both the countries get ready to welcome their new President, here is a brief comparison between the Presidents of the two countries.