Prime Minister Narendra Modi casts his vote in Delhi to elect the 15th President of India. (Twitter/Narendra Modi)Presidential Election Live updates: Polling in the Presidential elections ended on Monday with over 99 per cent of the total 4,796 electors casting their votes at the Parliament House and the state legislative assemblies. As many as 10 states and the Union Territory of Puducherry recorded a 100 per cent turnout.
By the time voting concluded, there were enough indications that NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu was set for an emphatic win against Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. Sources said eight MPs did not vote — Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dhotre (BJP); Syed Imtiaz Jaleel (AIMIM); Gajanan Kirtikar (Shiv Sena); Mohammad Sadique (Congress); T R Paarivendhar (DMK); Haji Fazlur Rehman and Atul Kumar Singh (BSP).
Instances of cross-voting, mostly in favour of Murmu, were reported from many states including her home state Odisha, Jharkhand where she was Governor, Gujarat and Haryana. The counting of votes will take place on July 21 while the next President will take oath on July 25.
The next occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhavan will be announced on July 21. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Guru Prakash Paswan writes: Although mentioned in the Preamble of the Constitution, justice and equality remained a ceremonial ideal on the walls of the government offices, from village panchayats to Parliament. Representation and dignity remained a distant dream for the socially disadvantaged sections of our society. This is why the selection of Droupadi Murmu as the NDA presidential candidate is a defining moment.
Similarly, the choice of Jagdeep Dhankhar for the position of Vice President is remarkable in multiple ways. His public life as an elected representative and a legal activist will certainly provide an extra edge in running the affairs of the Rajya Sabha. Read more
Announcing that he would “always strive to enhance democratic values of the country”, NDA nominee for Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar filed his nomination papers on Monday, flanked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top leaders of the ruling coalition.
“Never even in my dreams did I think a person with a humble background like me would get this opportunity. I am grateful to Prime Minister Modi and the leadership for giving a humble man from a kisan (farmer) family, like me, such a historic opportunity,” Dhankhar said after filing the nomination.
Three-time Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali on Monday ignored the party’s decision to back National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Droupadi Murmu in the presidential election and abstained from voting, claiming that he listened to the Sikh community and his conscience.
The 47-year-old Ayali, who is one of the SAD’s three legislators and the party leader in the Assembly, said, “I informed the party about my decision on Monday morning after discussing with voters of the area and a few Akali leaders. It is a question of your conscience and it didn’t allow me to vote for the NDA-backed candidate when they (NDA) are not standing by Punjab.”
Explaining his reasons in detail, the MLA said, “When the Centre has not solved any issue concerning Punjab — Punjab’s claim on Chandigarh, the SYL (Sutlej-Yamuna link canal) issue, Panjab University is being centralised, issue of Punjabi-speaking areas, the release of Sikh prisoners and many other issues. Hence, sometimes you have to listen to your ‘zameer (conscience)’.” Read more
On Monday, two legislators of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), one from Jharkhand and the other from Gujarat, cross-voted in favour of NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.
Speaking in Gandhinagar after casting his vote, Kandhal Jadeja, two-time MLA from Kutiyana Assembly constituency in Porbandar district of Gujarat, said, “I have voted for the BJP (the NDA candidate)… I have to stay in Gujarat and I vote keeping in mind the development works of my constituency. I do not have my selfish interest in mind while voting.”
In Ranchi, Kamlesh Singh, NCP’s lone MLA in Jharkhand, came out of the Vidhan Sabha and announced that he had voted for Murmu.
“Droupadi Murmu worked for the people of Jharkhand and I also maintained a personal relationship with her. Plus, my constituency has around 9,000 Adivasi votes that hold significance in Assembly elections,” Singh, MLA from Hussainabad constituency bordering Bihar, told The Indian Express. Read more
By the time voting concluded, there were enough indications that NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu was set for an emphatic win against Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. Votes will be counted on July 21 and the next President will take oath on July 25.
The Election Commission said: “As per reports being received, out of a total of 771 Members of Parliament entitled to vote (05 vacant) and similarly out of total 4025 Members of the Legislative Assemblies entitled to vote (06 vacant and 02 disqualified), over 99% cast their votes today. However, 100% voting by MLAs was reported from Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Puducherry, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu.”
Instances of cross-voting, mostly in favour of Murmu, were reported from many states including her home state Odisha, Jharkhand where she was Governor, Gujarat and Haryana. Exactly how many MPs and MLAs cross-voted will be known when the votes are counted. Read more
🔴 Haryana Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who had cross-voted in last month’s Rajya Sabha polls, indicated that he had supported the NDA candidate.
🔴 SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali chose to boycott the poll and blamed the party leadership for not consulting him or the Sikh community before deciding to extend support to Murmu.
🔴 In Gujarat, NCP MLA Kandhal Jadeja said he voted for Murmu. He was issued showcause notices in 2017 and 2019 for voting against the whip in Rajya Sabha polls. His party colleague in Jharkhand, Kamlesh Singh, too backed Murmu.
🔴 In Odisha, Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim announced he had voted in favour of Murmu as she was the “daughter of Odisha”.
🔴 In Assam, the Congress and its erstwhile ally AIUDF engaged in a war of words. AIUDF MLA Karimuddin Barbhuiya said he had evidence that 20 legislators of the Opposition Congress had cross-voted but did not furnish any. Read more
A total of 283 MLAs from Maharashtra voted to elect the country’s next President amid concerns of possible cross-voting by Opposition MLAs in favour of NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu.
The Maharashtra assembly has a strength of 288 MLAs, which got reduced to 287 following the death of Shiv Sena legislator Ramesh Latke in May. Two jailed NCP MLAs, Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh, did not vote. The BJP MLA from Chinchwad constituency, Laxman Jagtap, did not vote due to ill health while another rebel Sena MLA from Alibaug in Raigad district, Mahendra Dalvi, did not vote on account of being convicted in a case in May 2022. Read more
BJP MP and film actor Sunny Deol and Union Minister Sanjay Dhotre were among those who missed casting their votes in the presidential poll on Monday. While Deol is abroad for medical treatment, Dhotre is in the ICU. Two MPs each from BJP and Shiv Sena, and one each from the BSP, Congress, SP and AIMIM were among those who did not cast their votes during the election.
BSP leader Atul Singh who is in jail could not vote. Shiv Sena leaders, Gajanan Kirtikar and Hemant Godse, also did not vote. AIMIM leader Imtiyaz Jaleel also was among the eight who did not vote. Senior leaders like Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman came in a PPE, while former PM Manmohan Singh and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav came in wheelchairs to cast their votes. (PTI)
Secretary General of Rajya Sabha PC Mody on Monday informed that out of the 736 electors comprising 727 MPs and 9 Legislative Assembly members, who were permitted by ECI to vote, 730 electors comprising 721 MPs & 9 Legislative Assembly members cast their votes. He also said that elector turnout was at 99.18%.
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde casts his vote for presidential election 2022.
Tripura CM Manik Saha, who resigned as a Rajya Sabha MP earlier this month, cast his vote as an MLA of the Tripura assembly on Monday.
Tripura has 60 legislators and two Lok Sabha parliamentarians. Ruling ally IPFT MLA Brishaketu Debbarma did not cast his vote as he was known to be sick. CPI(M) legislator Sudhan Das, BJP minister Rampada Jamatia and two Lok Sabha MPs Pratima Bhowmik and Rebati Tripura, were known to have cast their votes in Delhi. The rest of the legislators have cast their votes at Tripura Legislative Assembly.
According to the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, the polled ballot box for the Presidential election would be deposited to the office of the Returning Officer (Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi). It would be taken from the strong room of Tripura Legislative Assembly tomorrow morning to be flown to New Delhi from MBB Airport.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor after casting their votes in Presidential polls in the Parliament on Monday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah after casting his vote for Presidential elections on Monday.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan polls his vote for the Presidential polls in the Parliament.
Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali on Monday boycotted the presidential poll, saying issues related to Punjab remain unresolved and he was not consulted by his party leadership before deciding to back NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has three legislators in the 117-member Punjab Assembly. NDA's candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint opposition pick Yashwant Sinha.
In a video message, Ayali said he is boycotting the poll on his won and the party leadership did not consult him before deciding to extend support to Murmu.
However, the Dakha MLA said he has no opposition to the candidature of Murmu. "But when the party decided to vote for the BJP candidate, I was not consulted. Even the Sikh community was also not consulted," he said. --PTI
As voting for the Presidential election is underway across the country, the sole MLA of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the Gujarat Assembly, Kandhal Jadeja, has voted for Droupadi Murmu, the candidate put up by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). NCP is an ally of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in Gujarat.
Speaking to media persons after casting his vote, Jadeja said he voted for the BJP candidate. Following this, Gujarat NCP president Jayant Patel 'Bosky' has sought an explanation from Jadeja. Read more
Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor and Digvijaya Singh arrive in Parliament to cast their votes for Presidential elections.
Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao casts his vote for Presidential elections in Hyderabad.
Haryana Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who cross-voted in last month's Rajya Sabha polls, on Monday said he has voted according to his conscience in the presidential election too.
Indicating that he had supported NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu rather than the opposition's Yashwant Sinha, Bishnoi said in Delhi, "Like in Rajya Sabha, I have cast my vote in this election too as per my conscience".
When reporters asked about his future course of action, he said, "I will reveal that soon." Before the Rajya Sabha polls too, Bishnoi, the younger son of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, had said he would go by his conscience. --PTI
BJP MLA from Sitamarhi, Mithilesh Kumar, left on a stretcher after casting his vote for the election of the President, at the State Assembly in Patna.