Karnataka: Droupadi Murmu will poll more votes than ever, says CM Basavara Bommai

BENGALURU: All 224 Karnataka MLAs besides two senior MPs — HD Deve Gowda and V Srinivas Prasad — turned up to vote to elect the new president of India at Vidhana Soudha on Monday. Citing health reasons, JD(S) supremo Gowda and Prasad of BJP, who represents Chamarajanagar in the Lok Sabha, had obtained special permission from the Election Commission to cast their votes in Bengaluru.
While Prasad cast his vote around 1.30pm, wheelchair-bound Rajya Sabha member Gowda was the last to do so. Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and his predecessor, BS Yediyurappa, were among the first to vote when polling opened at 10am. The two, besides the other 121 BJP legislators, who were lodged in a luxury hotel in the city since Saturday to ensure the flock remained intact, had arrived at Vidhana Soudha in a chartered bus.
Bommai was confident that NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu would receive more votes “than ever” and emerge victorious. “It is not just NDA and allies, but many opposition parties too have also openly supported Murmu,” Bommai said. “She has been an efficient administrator, minister, people’s representative, and governor. Hailing from a tribal community, her elevation to the highest post in the country will be a proud moment.”
Yediyurappa, who believes the presidential candidate should be elected unanimously, said: “Murmu will get 70% of the votes.” All BJP legislators flaunted saffron shawls. They were given special training on how to cast their vote to prevent invalid votes. Seventeen votes were declared invalid in the last presidential elections. Congress MLAs, who extended support to UPA candidate Yashwant Sinha, reached the venue in batches – some with opposition leader Siddaramaiah and others with KPCC president DK Shivakumar.
“The party has appealed to MLAs of all parties to vote as per their conscience to save the country from an impending economic crisis,” Shivakumar said. “Opposition candidate Sinha is the right candidate for the president’s post.” However, Murmu is expected to receive two-thirds of the votes in Karnataka since JD(S), which has about 30 MLAs in the legislative assembly, besides two MPs, pledged support for her.