Indian presidential election, 2002 was held on 15 July 2002 to elect President of India. On 18 July 2002, the results were declared.

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied phy ...

became the

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first attested i ...

President by beating his nearest rival Lakshmi Sahgal.

Candidates

Official candidates

File:A._P._J._Abdul_Kalam.jpg, File:Lakshmi Sahgal.jpg, The election was fought between two major candidates,

and Lakshmi Sahgal. Kalam was backed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its

National Democratic Alliance National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a Centre-right politics, centre-right to Right-wing politics, right-wing and Conservatism, conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was foun ...

. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Telugu Desam Party and

Bahujan Samaj Party The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national level political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), alon ...

also supported his candidature. The major opposition party Indian National Congress, two days after the nomination, declared its support to Kalam's candidature. Left Front were opposed to Kalam's candidature, and eventually nominated freedom fighter and

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...

's Rani of Jhansi Regiment commander Lakshmi Sahgal as their candidate.

Potential candidates

File:President Clinton with Indian president K. R. Narayanan (cropped).jpg, File:ఉపరాష్ట్రపతి శ్రీ కృష్ణకాంత్ గారి నుండి (cropped).jpg, File:Emblem of India.svg, File:Emblem of India.svg, Potential candidates included, President

K. R. Narayanan Kocheril Raman Narayanan (27 October 1921 – 9 November 2005) was an Indian statesman, diplomat, academic, and politician who served as the 9th vice president of India, Vice President of India from 1992 to 1997 and 10th President of India fr ...

Maharashtra Governor The governor of Maharashtra is the ceremonial head of the state of Maharashtra. The Constitution of India confers the executive powers of the state to the governor, however the de facto executive powers lie with the Council of Ministers. Bhagat ...

P. C. Alexander Padinjarethalakal Cherian Alexander (20 March 1921 – 10 August 2011) was an Indian Administrative Service officer of 1948 batch who served as the Governor of Tamil Nadu from 1988 to 1990 and as the Governor of Maharashtra from 1993 to 2002. H ...

, Vice President

Krishan Kant Krishan Kant (28 February 1927 – 27 July 2002) was an Indian politician who served as the tenth vice president of India from 1997 until his death 2002. Formerly, he was the governor of Andhra Pradesh from 1990 to 1997. He was a member of Lok ...

and Former

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...

A. M. Ahmadi.

Results

References

{{Indian presidential elections 2002 elections in India

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...