Presidential Polls: Droupadi Murmu, Yashwant Sinha's nomination papers found in order

NEW DELHI: The nomination papers of NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu and opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha have been found in order for the July 18 Presidential poll, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said on Thursday.

Out of the 115 nomination papers received for the presidential poll, 28 were rejected on the presentation itself, Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Mody, the returning officer for the poll, said.

Of the remaining 87 papers of 72 candidates for the presidential poll, 79 were rejected for not meeting the required criteria, he said.

The final list of candidates will be published in the Gazette after the last date for withdrawal of nomination on July 2.

Besides Murmu and Sinha, a host of commoners had also filed their papers for the top constitutional post in the country, which includes a slum dweller from Mumbai, a namesake of RJD founder Lalu Prasad Yadav, a social activist from Tamil Nadu and a professor from Delhi.

The Election Commission has made it mandatory for nominees to have at least 50 members of the electoral college as proposers and another 50 as seconders.

The number of proposers and seconders increased from 10 to 50 in 1997, ahead of the 11th presidential election, when the security deposit was hiked to Rs 15,000.