New Delhi: Amid possibility getting stronger for the UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee that he can be elected as India’s new President today is the final day of the race to the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The counting of votes for the Presidential election will begin at 11 am on Sunday and the result is likely to be out by 4 pm, according to officials.
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| Pranab Mukherjee looks set for landslide win in Presidential race (As analyst said ) --File Photo |
The Congress-led UPA government looks confidence of its candidate Pranab Mukherjee win with around 70 per cent of the votes in the direct contest with PA Sangma-the former Lok Sabha Speaker who is backed by some opposition parties.
With Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee falling in line, it's almost certain now that UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee will be the 14th President of India.
It is remarkable that all the UPA allies, parties such as BSP and SP as well as left are supporting the former Finance Minister who is all set to replace Pratibha Patil.
As per the norm, the ballot boxes from the states have been brought to the national capital for the counting.
The polling percentage has been less than expected this time with only 72 per cent of the total votes - valued at 11 lakh - polled. Of the total votes polled - estimated to be around 8 lakh - Pranab is expecting around 5.6 lakh votes.
At least 72 per cent of MPs and MLAs across the country voted to elect a new President. As many as 4,120 MLAs and 776 MPs with a total vote value of 10.98 lakh votes were eligible to cast their ballot in the election. As per information received from 22 states, 2937 MLAs and 40 MPs had cast their votes.
Notably, only the vote of Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has been declared invalid by the Election Commission on the ground that he violated the code of secrecy by revealing his vote. Yadav had initially voted for Sangma and then torn the ballot paper when he realised his mistake.
The new President will be administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of India on July 25.