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Droupadi Murmu has accumulated 53.13 per cent of total vote value after three rounds of counting. There is still one more round to go, in which votes of nine states and two Union Territories will be counted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with senior members of his Cabinet and BJP chief JP Nadda, visited Ms Murmu to congratulate her. Celebrations broke out across the country, complete with sweets and colourful tribal dances.
"I heartily congratulate Srimati Droupadi Murmu on her victory in the Presidential Election 2022. I hope — indeed, every Indian hopes — that as the 15th President of India she functions as the Custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour. I join my fellow countrymen in extending best wishes to her," read a statement from Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha.
The counting process started at 11 at the Parliament House and after preliminaries, the actual counting started at 1.30 pm. The trends became clear after the first round where Ms Murmu stood at 39 per cent.
The Delhi BJP started its celebrations with a roadshow from the party headquarters to Rajpath.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has already congratulated Ms Murmu. "The first women tribal to become President is a momentous occasion and thanks to PM Modi for giving such unique gift. There is absolute euphoria in Assam, particularly in the tea gardens, people are very happy," he added.
Odisha's Rairangpur, the hometown of Ms Murmu, broke out in celebrations as the trend became clear.
The NDA's choice of Ms Murmu -- former Jharkhand Governor and a tribal woman from Odisha – drove a wedge through the opposition and brought on board non-aligned parties, such as Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal and Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress. The move is also seen as a huge political message to the tribal community, which was lately seen as being disenchanted with the BJP.
The voting figures also indicate a considerable amount of cross-voting by opposition MPs and MLAs in Ms Murmu's favour. While parties have declared support for one candidate or the other, there is no penalty for cross-voting in the Presidential elections.
The winner of the Presidential election is not the candidate who gets only the most votes, but the one who crosses a quota. This quota is determined by adding votes polled for each candidate, dividing by two, and adding '1' to it. Basically, one more than 50 per cent. If someone does not cross this at first, subsequent preferences marked on the ballot paper come into play.
