As the tenure of Ram Nath Kovind will come to an end on July 24, approximately 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs are voted today to elect the 15th President of India. The polling started in Parliament House and state legislative assemblies at 10 AM and ended at 5 PM today, July 18.
The numbers are stacked in Murmu's favour after she received support from Shiv Sena, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) recently. The counting of votes will take place on July 21 while the next President will take oath on July 25.
Another Opposition meeting is to be held today at 6 pm to discuss VP polls, at the residence of NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Vice-Presidential polls to be discussed in the meeting. Opposition's Vice-Presidential candidate Margaret Alva to also attend the meeting: Sources
Another Opposition meeting to be held today at 6pm, at the residence of NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Vice-Presidential polls to be discussed in the meeting. Opposition's Vice-Presidential candidate Margaret Alva to also attend the meeting: Sources
— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2022
Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor and Digvijaya Singh arrive in Parliament to cast their votes for Presidential elections.
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Delhi | Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor and Digvijaya Singh arrive in Parliament to cast their votes for Presidential elections pic.twitter.com/ZGiK1TKOE6
— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2022
BJP MP Gautam Gambhir And AAP Mla Harbhajan Singh cast their vote.
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Delhi | AAP MP Harbhajan Singh & BJP MP Gautam Gambhir cast their votes for the Presidential polls pic.twitter.com/BBicynFPZl
— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2022
Congress MLA from Odisha, Mohammed Moquim, today went against the party line and voted for the NDA's Presidential candidate, Droupadi Murmu, who is also from Odisha. "It's my personal decision as I've listened to my heart, which guided me to do something for the soil and that's why voted for her," he said.
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I am a Congress MLA but I have voted for NDA's Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu. It's my personal decision as I've listened to my heart which guided me to do something for the soil and that's why voted for her: Odisha Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim#PresidentialElection pic.twitter.com/ckbaKRGdM7
— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2022
Yogi Adityanath Casts His vote.
#WATCH Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath casts vote to elect new President, in Lucknow#PresidentialElection pic.twitter.com/VDJ4WZIPp7
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) July 18, 2022
#DroupadiMurmu vs #YashwantSinha | Voting begins for the Presidential election; MPs and MLAs across the country cast their votes. pic.twitter.com/bfTEeTKPDF
— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2022
#WATCH | West Bengal BJP MLAs leave from The Westin Kolkata Rajarhat for the State Assembly.
Voting for the Presidential Election will be held from 10 am to 5 pm today. pic.twitter.com/KFBSYfbTQK
— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2022
With the support of BJD, YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK, TDP, JD(S), Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and now JMM, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Droupadi Murmu has a clear edge over Opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha as over 60 per cent votes are expected to be polled in her favour. If elected, she will become the first woman from the tribal community to hold the country’s top constitutional post. Presidential Election 2022: Who is Draupadi Murmu? Here is Everything You Need to Know About NDA’s Presidential Candidate
The President is elected by an electoral college consisting of MPs of both Houses of Parliament and MLAs of the states and Delhi and Puducherry. Nominated members of Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and the Assemblies, and members of state Legislative Councils, are not part of the electoral college
Before naming Sinha, a former Union minister during Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, the opposition camp had approached former Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah to take part in the presidential battle. In the 2017 election, Ram Nath Kovind became the President after defeating joint opposition candidate Meira Kumar. Kovind polled 7,02,000 votes compared with Kumar’s 3,67,000, out of a total of 10,69,358 votes.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 18, 2022 08:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).