Presidential elections: Parliament records 99.18% turnout as polling ends, Oppn MLAs cross vote in favour of Murmu

New Delhi: More than 4,000 MPs and MLAs cast their votes in the presidential poll on 18 July. The counting of votes will be done on 21 July.

The ruling BJP-led NDA nominated former Jharkhand governor Droupadi Murmu while the joint Opposition fielded former Union minister Yashwant Sinha.

The total turnout at the Parliament was 99.18 percent, Chief Returning Officer PC Mody said. Polling was conducted peacefully and cordially everywhere, he added.

"Out of 736 electors (727 MPs, 9 MLAs) permitted by the Election Commission (EC) to vote in Parliament in the Presidential poll, 730 (721 MPs, 9 MLAs) voted," Mody said.

#WATCH | 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. Elector turnout was 99.18%: PC Mody, Secretary General, Rajya Sabha pic.twitter.com/5fz8irEDcj

— ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2022

"Ballot boxes to reach Delhi via road and air and the assistant returning officers will accompany them," he also said.

Cross voting by Opposition MLAs

Several instances of cross-voting by Opposition leaders were reported. 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 Murmu.

Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim announced that he has voted in favour of Murmu as she is "a daughter of Odisha."

Who supports whom

NDA's Murmu has the support of Odisha's ruling party Biju Janata Dal (BJD). The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Janata Dal (Secular), Shiromani Akali Dal, both the factions of Shiv Sena and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) also support her.

Born and brought up in Odisha, Murmu served as a minister in the state Cabinet. If elected, she will be the first tribal President of India and the country's second female President after Pratibha Patil.

Sinha had resigned from TMC before he was nominated as the Opposition's candidate for the presidential poll.

A former BJP leader, he served as a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He's backed by Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

As per Article 54 of the Constitution, the President is elected by the members of the Electoral College consisting of elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of all States including the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The nominated members of either Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha or Legislative Assemblies of the States are not eligible to be included in the Electoral College and therefore, they did not vote in the election. Similarly, members of the Legislative Councils were not electors for the Presidential elections.

The value of votes of the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies and both Houses of Parliament is governed by Article 55(2) of the Constitution.

With inputs from agencies

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