A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s account of becoming President begins on 10 June 2002, when he was working with professors and students at Anna University. As he recounts it in Turning Points: A Journey through Challenges, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu warned him to expect an important call—and urged him not to refuse it. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee then asked whether Kalam would agree to become the National Democratic Alliance’s presidential candidate.
How Kalam says the offer began
In the excerpt from Turning Points: A Journey through Challenges, Kalam recalls that Naidu called first, telling him to be ready for a significant call. Vajpayee soon contacted him and said coalition leaders had unanimously decided that the country needed him as its President. He asked for Kalam’s concurrence.
Kalam says he did not simply accept the proposal as presented. He replied that he wanted to be an all-party candidate. That preference shaped the next stage of the political discussions in his account.
How the candidacy gained support
Kalam recounts that Vajpayee consulted Congress president Sonia Gandhi. After discussions with party members and coalition partners, the Indian National Congress announced its support for Kalam on 17 June 2002. The Left parties, meanwhile, nominated their own candidate.
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This sequence comes from Kalam’s published recollection, reproduced in a Scroll.in excerpt published on 27 July 2015. It describes how he understood the approach and cross-party consultations; it is not, by itself, an official election record.
From nomination to swearing-in
Kalam’s excerpt dates the subsequent milestones as follows:
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- 18 June 2002: He filed his nomination and held a press conference.
- 10 July 2002: He returned to Delhi to prepare.
- 18 July 2002: He was declared elected.
- 25 July 2002: He took the oath of office at the swearing-in ceremony.
These dates are those given in the excerpt. It does not establish an independently verified vote total or electoral margin, so none should be inferred from this narrative.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The source of Kalam’s account
The narrative is drawn from A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s book Turning Points: A Journey through Challenges, published by HarperCollins India. The excerpt offers a first-person view of the approach, his wish to be an all-party candidate, and the steps that followed. It should be read as Kalam’s recollection rather than as a substitute for official documentation of the election.
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