Lucknow, Jul 18 (PTI) Two MLAs, one each from Samajwadi Party and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, did not cast their votes in the presidential poll at Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Bhavan's Tilak Hall here on Monday, officials said.
Of 403 MLAs, 396 cast their votes in the election at the Tilak Hall, they said.
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"396 of the total 403 MLAs in the state cast their votes. Two MLAs -- SP's Nahid Hasan and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) MLA Abbas Ansari did not cast their votes," Brij Bhushan Dubey, returning officer for the presidential poll in UP, told PTI.
Five MLAs were to cast their vote outside the state due to personal reasons. The five MLAs are BJP's Mukesh Choudhary, Neel Ratan Patel and Brijbhushan Rajput; Samajwadi Party's Zia Ur Rahman; and Rashtriya Lok Dal's Pradeep Kumar Singh.
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Mukesh Choudhary, Zia Ur Rahman, Pradeep Kumar Singh and Brijbhushan Rajput were to cast their vote in Delhi and Neel Ratan Patel in Kerala.
SBSP MLA Abbas Ansari, son of mafia-turned politician Mukhtar Ansari, did not turn up to cast his vote, as a court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him, party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar said, adding that rest of the five MLAs of SBSP voted for NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.
Nahid Hasan, SP MLA from Kairana who did not turn up for voting, is in a Muzaffarnagar jail, the officials said.
Amidst reports of cross-voting by Shazil Islam Ansari, the SP MLA from Bhojipura in Bareilly told PTI, "Why should I cross-vote? I have voted as per the party line."
Shazil was seen with Shivpal Singh Yadav, giving air to the speculation.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was among the early voters, prayed for more power to Indian democracy as he voted for the presidential election.
"Voted in Lucknow today to ensure participation in the 2022 presidential election. May the democracy of India be more empowered," Adityanath tweeted in Hindi.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati claimed that his party rose above politics to support NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu and urged legislators belonging to weaker sections to vote on the basis of their conscience.
UP Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak and SBSP chief Rajbhar arrived together to cast their votes.
Rajbhar is an ally of the state's main opposition SP, which is supporting former Union minister Yashwant Sinha in the election. However, Rajbhar's SBSP has broken ranks while declaring support to Murmu.
Meanwhile, BSP chief Mayawati in a tweet said, "Rising above the party politics and as per the thought process of the party and movement, the BSP was the first to announce its support to a woman hailing from tribal society."
"Appeal to other people of the weaker sections to vote on the basis of their conscience today," she tweeted in Hindi.
Two ballot boxes, which came from Delhi, were sent back to the national capital after voting completed at 5 pm, Dubey said, adding that the counting of votes will take place in Delhi on July 21.
With the highest vote value of 208 for each of its 403 MLAs, UP will be an important state to watch out for in the presidential election.
NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint Opposition pick Yashwant Sinha in the poll to elect the 15th President of India.
The electoral college which elects the President through the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote comprises MPs and MLAs. Nominated MPs and MLAs, and members of legislative councils are not entitled to vote in the presidential poll.
The MPs and MLAs got ballot papers of different colours for voting. While the MPs got green papers, the MLAs were given ballot papers printed in pink.
Major political parties have already announced their support for the candidates.
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)