News Analysis India

Tag: Presidential polls

  • Congress leadership adopts carrot and stick policy after Gehlot’s anti-Pilot revolt

    Express News Service

    The Congress leadership on Tuesday adopted a carrot and stick policy to persuade Ashok Gehlot and his revolting loyalists to fall in line with the party’s high command and give up their all-out attempts to stop Sachin Pilot from becoming the Chief Minister.

    Even as senior party leaders were roped in to coerce Chief Minister Gehlot to resign and enter the race for the party president’s post, the party high command girds up its loins to crack the whip on Gehlot loyalists’ and ministers Shanti Dhariwal and Mahesh Joshi. The two spearheaded the protest against signing the resolution authorising interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi to appoint a new Chief Minister after Gehlot files the nomination papers for the party presidential polls.

    It was Dhariwal who had called the MLAs to his residence and prevented them from meeting Maken and central observer Mallikarjun Kharge. Dhariwal had openly accused Congress general secretary in charge of Rajasthan Ajay Maken of trying to persuade MLAs to support Sachin Pilot. He said Maken had come with an agenda to install Pilot who was considered a “traitor” by a majority of party MLAs because of his earlier bid to form a government with the help of the BJP.

    Besides, action is also likely against party’s chief whip in the state Mahesh Joshi who reportedly did not make an effort to bring the MLAs together to meet the two central leaders.

    Senior leaders including Ambika Soni are on a mission to convince Gehlot to take up party presidency after relinquishing the Chief Minister’s post, said sources. He has been told that the party leadership is ready to put the unsavoury episodes that unfolded in Jaipur behind and get on with the organisational elections. Party leaders in Delhi have not lost hope of Gehlot acceding to the high command’ wishes.

    Gehlot is not averse to giving up chief ministership and entering the presidential race. But he does not want to hand over charge in the state to Pilot. He says he would hand over the chief ministership to any one from the 102 MLAs who had stayed loyal to the party when Pilot had walked out, but not the latter.

    Sonia Gandhi has asked the two central observers to submit a report on the Jaipur rebellion. Maken has already termed the behavior of party MLAs as indiscipline.

    The Congress leadership on Tuesday adopted a carrot and stick policy to persuade Ashok Gehlot and his revolting loyalists to fall in line with the party’s high command and give up their all-out attempts to stop Sachin Pilot from becoming the Chief Minister.

    Even as senior party leaders were roped in to coerce Chief Minister Gehlot to resign and enter the race for the party president’s post, the party high command girds up its loins to crack the whip on Gehlot loyalists’ and ministers Shanti Dhariwal and Mahesh Joshi. The two spearheaded the protest against signing the resolution authorising interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi to appoint a new Chief Minister after Gehlot files the nomination papers for the party presidential polls.

    It was Dhariwal who had called the MLAs to his residence and prevented them from meeting Maken and central observer Mallikarjun Kharge. Dhariwal had openly accused Congress general secretary in charge of Rajasthan Ajay Maken of trying to persuade MLAs to support Sachin Pilot. He said Maken had come with an agenda to install Pilot who was considered a “traitor” by a majority of party MLAs because of his earlier bid to form a government with the help of the BJP.

    Besides, action is also likely against party’s chief whip in the state Mahesh Joshi who reportedly did not make an effort to bring the MLAs together to meet the two central leaders.

    Senior leaders including Ambika Soni are on a mission to convince Gehlot to take up party presidency after relinquishing the Chief Minister’s post, said sources. He has been told that the party leadership is ready to put the unsavoury episodes that unfolded in Jaipur behind and get on with the organisational elections. Party leaders in Delhi have not lost hope of Gehlot acceding to the high command’ wishes.

    Gehlot is not averse to giving up chief ministership and entering the presidential race. But he does not want to hand over charge in the state to Pilot. He says he would hand over the chief ministership to any one from the 102 MLAs who had stayed loyal to the party when Pilot had walked out, but not the latter.

    Sonia Gandhi has asked the two central observers to submit a report on the Jaipur rebellion. Maken has already termed the behavior of party MLAs as indiscipline.

  • Who will be India’s 15th President? Country to know on Thursday as counting begins at 11 am

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India on Thursday will know who will succeed incumbent Ram Nath Kovind to become the country’s 15th President, as counting of votes for the presidential election begins at 11 am at the Parliament House here.

    Ruling NDA’s Droupadi Murmu and Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha are pitted against each other in the contest, with votes clearly stacked in favour of Murmu, who, if elected, will be the first tribal woman to occupy the top constitutional post in the country.

    Kovind’s tenure is ending on July 24 and the new president will take oath on July 25.

    With ballot boxes from all states had reached the Parliament House, poll officials are ready for the counting in room number 63, the strongroom of Parliament where the boxes are guarded behind round-the-clock security.

    Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody, who is the Chief Returning Officer for the poll, will oversee the counting Thursday, the result of which is likely to be declared by the evening.

    Mody will first brief on the poll trends after all votes of MPs have been counted, and then again after votes of 10 states in alphabetical order have been counted.

    Sources said he will brief once more on the poll trends after votes of 20 states have been counted, and then finally declare the result after the total counting.

    All ballot boxes from state assemblies had reached the Parliament’s strongroom on Tuesday evening and have been locked there since.

    The ballot boxes had been flown into the national capital as ‘Mr Ballot Box’ from across the states.

    ‘Mr Ballot Box’ came seated in the front row of aircraft under the watchful gaze of the Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) of their respective states.

    The Election Commission had on Monday posted photographs of the sealed ballot boxes onboard flights accompanied by AROs.

    According to the EC, each ballot box was issued an e-ticket under the name ‘Mr Ballot Box’.

    Polling for the presidential election was held between 10 am to 5 pm Monday at 31 locations including the Parliament House and 30 centres within state legislative assemblies.

    There are also reports of cross-voting in favour of Murmu in a number of states.

    There is no whip issued to members in the presidential poll.

    MPs of both, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, except nominated MPs, and all MLAs in the legislative assembly in all states act as electors in the presidential poll.

    A total of 4,809 electors, comprising 776 MPs and 4,033 elected MLAs, are entitled to vote in the election, but nominated MPs and MLAs, and Members of the Legislative Council are not.

    Over 99 per cent of the total electors had cast their ballot in the poll that took place Monday, according to the Election Commission.

    Eight MPs, including BJP MPs Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dhotre, were among those who missed casting their votes.

    Actor-politician Deol missed voting since he is abroad for medical treatment, while Dhotre gave it a pass since he was in the ICU.

    Two MPs each from BJP and Shiv Sena, and one from the BSP, Congress, SP, and AIMIM missed voting in the Monday polls.

    Kovind had become the President after polling 7,02,044 votes out of a total of 10,69,358 votes, while his rival Meira Kumar polled only 3,67,314 votes.

    NEW DELHI: India on Thursday will know who will succeed incumbent Ram Nath Kovind to become the country’s 15th President, as counting of votes for the presidential election begins at 11 am at the Parliament House here.

    Ruling NDA’s Droupadi Murmu and Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha are pitted against each other in the contest, with votes clearly stacked in favour of Murmu, who, if elected, will be the first tribal woman to occupy the top constitutional post in the country.

    Kovind’s tenure is ending on July 24 and the new president will take oath on July 25.

    With ballot boxes from all states had reached the Parliament House, poll officials are ready for the counting in room number 63, the strongroom of Parliament where the boxes are guarded behind round-the-clock security.

    Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody, who is the Chief Returning Officer for the poll, will oversee the counting Thursday, the result of which is likely to be declared by the evening.

    Mody will first brief on the poll trends after all votes of MPs have been counted, and then again after votes of 10 states in alphabetical order have been counted.

    Sources said he will brief once more on the poll trends after votes of 20 states have been counted, and then finally declare the result after the total counting.

    All ballot boxes from state assemblies had reached the Parliament’s strongroom on Tuesday evening and have been locked there since.

    The ballot boxes had been flown into the national capital as ‘Mr Ballot Box’ from across the states.

    ‘Mr Ballot Box’ came seated in the front row of aircraft under the watchful gaze of the Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) of their respective states.

    The Election Commission had on Monday posted photographs of the sealed ballot boxes onboard flights accompanied by AROs.

    According to the EC, each ballot box was issued an e-ticket under the name ‘Mr Ballot Box’.

    Polling for the presidential election was held between 10 am to 5 pm Monday at 31 locations including the Parliament House and 30 centres within state legislative assemblies.

    There are also reports of cross-voting in favour of Murmu in a number of states.

    There is no whip issued to members in the presidential poll.

    MPs of both, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, except nominated MPs, and all MLAs in the legislative assembly in all states act as electors in the presidential poll.

    A total of 4,809 electors, comprising 776 MPs and 4,033 elected MLAs, are entitled to vote in the election, but nominated MPs and MLAs, and Members of the Legislative Council are not.

    Over 99 per cent of the total electors had cast their ballot in the poll that took place Monday, according to the Election Commission.

    Eight MPs, including BJP MPs Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dhotre, were among those who missed casting their votes.

    Actor-politician Deol missed voting since he is abroad for medical treatment, while Dhotre gave it a pass since he was in the ICU.

    Two MPs each from BJP and Shiv Sena, and one from the BSP, Congress, SP, and AIMIM missed voting in the Monday polls.

    Kovind had become the President after polling 7,02,044 votes out of a total of 10,69,358 votes, while his rival Meira Kumar polled only 3,67,314 votes.

  • Presidential polls: Voted according to my conscience, says rebel Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: 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 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.”

    “The Congress is no longer the party as it was during Indira ji or Rajiv ji’s time,” he said, claiming that common workers and even senior “don’t get that respect in the Congress now”.

    He said Congress leaders, with whom he has personal relations, keep telling him that he should not leave the party.

    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.

    The system of secret ballot is followed in the presidential election, and parties cannot issue whips to their MPs and MLAs.

    While other Haryana MLAs were exercising their franchise at the Vidhan Sabha complex in Chandigarh, Bishnoi had sought permission to cast his vote at Parliament House.

    The 53-year-old legislator from Adampur had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda in New Delhi recently and later heaped praises on them.

    Bishnoi, a four-time MLA and a two-time MP, has been sulking ever since the Congress ignored him for the post of its Haryana unit chief during a revamp earlier this year.

    The party appointed Udai Bhan, a loyalist of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as its Haryana president.

    Bishnoi was expelled from all party positions on June 11 for not following the party line in the Rajya Sabha elections.

    “The Congress also has rules for some leaders and exceptions for others. Rules are applied selectively. Indiscipline has been repeatedly ignored in the past. In my case, I listened to my soul and acted on my morals,” he had then tweeted in response.

    Last month, Bishnoi said he was consulting his supporters to decide his next course of action.

    Earlier, the Adampur MLA and a prominent non-Jat face in Haryana, Bishnoi had batted for promoting young faces with a “mass base” to strengthen the party.

    He had earlier described Jyotiraditya Scindia’s exit from the party as a big blow and said there are many devoted leaders across the country who feel “alienated, wasted and discontented”.

    In the recent Rajya Sabha election, the Congress, which is the main opposition party in Haryana, was assured of one seat by virtue of the number of MLAs it has in the 90-member assembly.

    However, Congress candidate Ajay Maken failed to secure the berth after Bishnoi cross-voted, while another MLA’s vote was declared invalid.

    BJP’s Krishan Lal Panwar and the saffron party-backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma were elected to the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana for which the election was held last month.

    CHANDIGARH/NEW DELHI: 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 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.”

    “The Congress is no longer the party as it was during Indira ji or Rajiv ji’s time,” he said, claiming that common workers and even senior “don’t get that respect in the Congress now”.

    He said Congress leaders, with whom he has personal relations, keep telling him that he should not leave the party.

    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.

    The system of secret ballot is followed in the presidential election, and parties cannot issue whips to their MPs and MLAs.

    While other Haryana MLAs were exercising their franchise at the Vidhan Sabha complex in Chandigarh, Bishnoi had sought permission to cast his vote at Parliament House.

    The 53-year-old legislator from Adampur had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda in New Delhi recently and later heaped praises on them.

    Bishnoi, a four-time MLA and a two-time MP, has been sulking ever since the Congress ignored him for the post of its Haryana unit chief during a revamp earlier this year.

    The party appointed Udai Bhan, a loyalist of former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as its Haryana president.

    Bishnoi was expelled from all party positions on June 11 for not following the party line in the Rajya Sabha elections.

    “The Congress also has rules for some leaders and exceptions for others. Rules are applied selectively. Indiscipline has been repeatedly ignored in the past. In my case, I listened to my soul and acted on my morals,” he had then tweeted in response.

    Last month, Bishnoi said he was consulting his supporters to decide his next course of action.

    Earlier, the Adampur MLA and a prominent non-Jat face in Haryana, Bishnoi had batted for promoting young faces with a “mass base” to strengthen the party.

    He had earlier described Jyotiraditya Scindia’s exit from the party as a big blow and said there are many devoted leaders across the country who feel “alienated, wasted and discontented”.

    In the recent Rajya Sabha election, the Congress, which is the main opposition party in Haryana, was assured of one seat by virtue of the number of MLAs it has in the 90-member assembly.

    However, Congress candidate Ajay Maken failed to secure the berth after Bishnoi cross-voted, while another MLA’s vote was declared invalid.

    BJP’s Krishan Lal Panwar and the saffron party-backed Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma were elected to the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana for which the election was held last month.

  • ‘Listened to conscience’: NCP MLAs in Jharkhand, Gujarat indulge in cross-voting in Presidential elections

    By PTI

    RANCHI: NCP MLA Kamlesh Singh on Monday took many in political circles by surprise when he announced that he voted for NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu.

    Murmu, an ex-governor of Jharkhand, is up against former Hazaribag MP Yashwant Sinha, the joint candidate of non-BJP parties, including the Congress, the TMC and the NCP.

    Singh said he went by his “conscience call” while exercising his franchise.

    “Some things in life should be done in accordance with our conscience call. I have taken this decision in the interest of Jharkhand. She (Murmu) has been a governor of this state and everyone knows her conduct,”” the NCP MLA stated.

    Speculation was rife that several Congress MLAs have also cross-voted, but the party’s state unit resident Rajesh Thakur rubbished the conjectures.

    “BJP MLAs might have voted for the opposition candidate.

    Congress legislators would never do so,” he claimed.

    Voting for the presidential poll began at 10 am continued till 5 pm.

    Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said polling for the presidential elections was held peacefully.

    Eighty out of 81 voters exercised their franchise here.

    BJP’s ailing Sindri MLA, Indrajeet Mahto could not cast his vote as he is undergoing treatment in hospital.

    “Ballot boxes have been sealed. These will be sent to Delhi on July 19,” he said.

    No MP from the state cast their votes here, Kumar stated, adding that the 20 parliamentarians were scheduled to exercise their franchise in Delhi.

    Both Murmu and Sinha had visited Jharkhand to seek support.

    The ruling JMM, which runs a coalition government in the state with the Congress and the RJD, had initially backed Sinha only to receive flak from the tribal community to which both Murmu and the party’s executive president and Chief Minister Hemant Soren belong.

    The party then pledged support for the NDA nominee.

    Soren said legislators of his party have voted in line with the decision taken.

    “You are aware of the party’s decision. Legislators and parliamentarians have voted accordingly,” Soren told reporters.

    JMM leader and state education minister Jagarnath Mahto said he followed his party’s directions while another MLA Nalin Soren asserted that he “listened to his heart”, without divulging any further detail.

    As many as 28 legislators of the NDA, including two of the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) Party, reached the Assembly premises in a bus during the day to exercise their franchise.

    The MLAs, under the leadership of former chief minister Babulal Marandi and AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto, showed victory signs, as some of them said they were elated over the fact that Murmu, a tribal woman, was set to get elevated to the top constitutional post in a first.

    “NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu will get the support of at least 65 legislators in Jharkhand under any circumstance as many Congress legislators are also going to listen to their conscience and vote for her,” BJP MLA Biranchi Narayan claimed.

    BJP legislators Anant Ojha and Bhanu Pratap Shahi were among the early ones to exercise the franchise.

    “I was the first one to vote to elect the first citizen. It is a matter of great pride for me,” Ojha said.

    Shahi said, “We strongly believe Murmu will work for the betterment of the society including the poor, downtrodden and Dalits.

    ”In the 81-member House, the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance has a combined strength of 48, with the Shibu Soren-founded party alone having 30 seats in its kitty.

    The BJP has 26 legislators including Babulal Marandi, the former JVM-P chief who joined the saffron camp after the 2019 assembly elections.

    The vote value of each MP is 700 across the country.

    MLAs in Jharkhand have a vote value of 176 each.

    The JMM has three MPs in the state, the BJP 14, the Congress two and the AJSU Party one.

    Murmu, having secured the support of the JMM, is expected to garner a score of 22,808 in the state and Sinha 4,392, with the backing of the Congress and the RJD.

    MLA in Gujarat, Kandhal Jadeja, on Monday said he voted for Murmu.

    Notably, political parties cannot issue whip to their MLAs and MPs in the presidential poll.

    After voting in the Assembly complex here for the presidential election, Jadeja in a video statement said, “I cast my vote for the BJP candidate.”

    The opposition has fielded former Union minister Yashwant Sinha against NDA nominee Murmu.

    The Sharad Pawar-headed NCP is one of the constituents of the Congress-led opposition bloc in the country.

    In 2020, the NCP had issued a show cause notice was issued by the NCP to Jadeja, the lone party MLA in Gujarat from Kutiyana seat in Porbandar, for defying the whip and cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls.

    Jadeja had defied the party whip and voted for BJP candidates instead of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat in 2017 and 2020.

    Voting to elect the country’s 15th president was underway in the Gujarat Assembly complex in Gandhinagar from 10 am on Monday and will continue till 5 pm.

    Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Speaker Nimaben Acharya, former CM Vijay Rupani, ex-Deputy CM Nitin Patel and Leader of Opposition Sukhram Rathva were among those who cast their votes.

    RANCHI: NCP MLA Kamlesh Singh on Monday took many in political circles by surprise when he announced that he voted for NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu.

    Murmu, an ex-governor of Jharkhand, is up against former Hazaribag MP Yashwant Sinha, the joint candidate of non-BJP parties, including the Congress, the TMC and the NCP.

    Singh said he went by his “conscience call” while exercising his franchise.

    “Some things in life should be done in accordance with our conscience call. I have taken this decision in the interest of Jharkhand. She (Murmu) has been a governor of this state and everyone knows her conduct,”” the NCP MLA stated.

    Speculation was rife that several Congress MLAs have also cross-voted, but the party’s state unit resident Rajesh Thakur rubbished the conjectures.

    “BJP MLAs might have voted for the opposition candidate.

    Congress legislators would never do so,” he claimed.

    Voting for the presidential poll began at 10 am continued till 5 pm.

    Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar said polling for the presidential elections was held peacefully.

    Eighty out of 81 voters exercised their franchise here.

    BJP’s ailing Sindri MLA, Indrajeet Mahto could not cast his vote as he is undergoing treatment in hospital.

    “Ballot boxes have been sealed. These will be sent to Delhi on July 19,” he said.

    No MP from the state cast their votes here, Kumar stated, adding that the 20 parliamentarians were scheduled to exercise their franchise in Delhi.

    Both Murmu and Sinha had visited Jharkhand to seek support.

    The ruling JMM, which runs a coalition government in the state with the Congress and the RJD, had initially backed Sinha only to receive flak from the tribal community to which both Murmu and the party’s executive president and Chief Minister Hemant Soren belong.

    The party then pledged support for the NDA nominee.

    Soren said legislators of his party have voted in line with the decision taken.

    “You are aware of the party’s decision. Legislators and parliamentarians have voted accordingly,” Soren told reporters.

    JMM leader and state education minister Jagarnath Mahto said he followed his party’s directions while another MLA Nalin Soren asserted that he “listened to his heart”, without divulging any further detail.

    As many as 28 legislators of the NDA, including two of the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) Party, reached the Assembly premises in a bus during the day to exercise their franchise.

    The MLAs, under the leadership of former chief minister Babulal Marandi and AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto, showed victory signs, as some of them said they were elated over the fact that Murmu, a tribal woman, was set to get elevated to the top constitutional post in a first.

    “NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu will get the support of at least 65 legislators in Jharkhand under any circumstance as many Congress legislators are also going to listen to their conscience and vote for her,” BJP MLA Biranchi Narayan claimed.

    BJP legislators Anant Ojha and Bhanu Pratap Shahi were among the early ones to exercise the franchise.

    “I was the first one to vote to elect the first citizen. It is a matter of great pride for me,” Ojha said.

    Shahi said, “We strongly believe Murmu will work for the betterment of the society including the poor, downtrodden and Dalits.

    ”In the 81-member House, the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance has a combined strength of 48, with the Shibu Soren-founded party alone having 30 seats in its kitty.

    The BJP has 26 legislators including Babulal Marandi, the former JVM-P chief who joined the saffron camp after the 2019 assembly elections.

    The vote value of each MP is 700 across the country.

    MLAs in Jharkhand have a vote value of 176 each.

    The JMM has three MPs in the state, the BJP 14, the Congress two and the AJSU Party one.

    Murmu, having secured the support of the JMM, is expected to garner a score of 22,808 in the state and Sinha 4,392, with the backing of the Congress and the RJD.

    MLA in Gujarat, Kandhal Jadeja, on Monday said he voted for Murmu.

    Notably, political parties cannot issue whip to their MLAs and MPs in the presidential poll.

    After voting in the Assembly complex here for the presidential election, Jadeja in a video statement said, “I cast my vote for the BJP candidate.”

    The opposition has fielded former Union minister Yashwant Sinha against NDA nominee Murmu.

    The Sharad Pawar-headed NCP is one of the constituents of the Congress-led opposition bloc in the country.

    In 2020, the NCP had issued a show cause notice was issued by the NCP to Jadeja, the lone party MLA in Gujarat from Kutiyana seat in Porbandar, for defying the whip and cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls.

    Jadeja had defied the party whip and voted for BJP candidates instead of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha polls from Gujarat in 2017 and 2020.

    Voting to elect the country’s 15th president was underway in the Gujarat Assembly complex in Gandhinagar from 10 am on Monday and will continue till 5 pm.

    Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Speaker Nimaben Acharya, former CM Vijay Rupani, ex-Deputy CM Nitin Patel and Leader of Opposition Sukhram Rathva were among those who cast their votes.

  • Presidential poll: Manmohan Singh arrives in wheelchair to cast vote

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday arrived in Parliament to cast his vote for the presidential poll in a wheelchair.

    Singh, 89, has been unwell after he tested positive for Covid last year, and has been away from the limelight since then.

    Last October, he was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after he complained of weakness following fever.

    Former Prime Minister and Congress MP Dr Manmohan Singh cast his vote for the Presidential election, today at the Parliament. pic.twitter.com/H6jl3O7hlb
    — ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2022
    The former PM had contracted Covid last year during the height of the second coronavirus wave.

    Voting for the presidential election in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint Opposition pick Yashwant Sinha began at 10 am and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote followed by BJP President JP Nadda. The voting process would conclude at 5 pm.

    Similarly, another veteran leader, Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, also arrived to cast his vote on a wheel chair accompanied by his brother Ram Gopal Yadav.

    Yadav, 82, has been unwell for quite some time and has been in an out of hospital in the last year due to various ailments.

    BJP leader Pradipta Kumar Naik, who is the leader of opposition in the Odisha Assembly also arrived on a wheel chair with an oxygen cylinder straight from the hospital. He was admitted to a private hospital here for post-Covid complications.

    While 616 MPs and nine MLAs cast their vote here till 1pm, they recorded a voting percentage of 83 per cent. Counting of votes will be held on July 21.

    NEW DELHI: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday arrived in Parliament to cast his vote for the presidential poll in a wheelchair.

    Singh, 89, has been unwell after he tested positive for Covid last year, and has been away from the limelight since then.

    Last October, he was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after he complained of weakness following fever.

    Former Prime Minister and Congress MP Dr Manmohan Singh cast his vote for the Presidential election, today at the Parliament. pic.twitter.com/H6jl3O7hlb
    — ANI (@ANI) July 18, 2022
    The former PM had contracted Covid last year during the height of the second coronavirus wave.

    Voting for the presidential election in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint Opposition pick Yashwant Sinha began at 10 am and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote followed by BJP President JP Nadda. The voting process would conclude at 5 pm.

    Similarly, another veteran leader, Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, also arrived to cast his vote on a wheel chair accompanied by his brother Ram Gopal Yadav.

    Yadav, 82, has been unwell for quite some time and has been in an out of hospital in the last year due to various ailments.

    BJP leader Pradipta Kumar Naik, who is the leader of opposition in the Odisha Assembly also arrived on a wheel chair with an oxygen cylinder straight from the hospital. He was admitted to a private hospital here for post-Covid complications.

    While 616 MPs and nine MLAs cast their vote here till 1pm, they recorded a voting percentage of 83 per cent. Counting of votes will be held on July 21.

  • Presidential polls: Cross-voting fears in Maharashtra Congress, NCP

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: As lawmakers from Maharashtra gear up to vote on Monday to elect the country’s next president, there are concerns among the opposition parties over the possibility of cross-voting.

    MLAs and MPs form the electoral college to elect the President of India.

    The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress – the two main opposition parties in Maharashtra – have already held meetings with their legislators to ensure there is no any cross-voting in favour of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s candidate Droupadi Murmu.

    The opposition is concerned as Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday claimed that Murmu would get the support of 200 MLAs from the state.

    “We will manage to get the votes of 200 MLAs for Droupadi Murmu. We want a very comfortable win for her,”” he said.

    Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha is the candidate of the Opposition.

    Notably, cross-voting was held during the Rajya Sabha elections and the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls last month.

    All five candidates of the BJP had won the Legislative Council polls held for 10 seats, while with its own numbers the BJP could have won only four seats.

    The Shiv Sena and the NCP won two seats each, while the Congress could only bag one seat.

    “There are some concerns in the NCP and Congress over guarding their votes.

    “The Congress already faced an embarrassment in the Legislative Council election when one of its candidate lost against the BJP. We do not want it to happen again,”” a senior Congress leader said.

    The BJP currently has 106 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly along with 40 MLAs belonging to the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, besides 10 independents who support the BJP.

    ““Without cross-voting, Murmu cannot get the votes of 200 MLAs, as claimed by CM Shinde. If Murmu gets 200 votes, it will be a further setback for the Congress, NCP and the Shiv Sena,” a political analyst said.

    The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena with 15 MLAs has announced support for Murmu.

    The NCP and Congress have 53 and 44 MLAs, respectively.

    Of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, 23 MPs belong to the BJP, 18 to Shiv Sena, four to NCP, and one to Congress.

    Of the rest two MPs, one belongs to the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and another is Independent.

    Various political parties in the state are also taking extra efforts to ensure none of the votes cast by their MLAs and MPs turn invalid in the presidential election.

    MUMBAI: As lawmakers from Maharashtra gear up to vote on Monday to elect the country’s next president, there are concerns among the opposition parties over the possibility of cross-voting.

    MLAs and MPs form the electoral college to elect the President of India.

    The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress – the two main opposition parties in Maharashtra – have already held meetings with their legislators to ensure there is no any cross-voting in favour of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s candidate Droupadi Murmu.

    The opposition is concerned as Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday claimed that Murmu would get the support of 200 MLAs from the state.

    “We will manage to get the votes of 200 MLAs for Droupadi Murmu. We want a very comfortable win for her,”” he said.

    Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha is the candidate of the Opposition.

    Notably, cross-voting was held during the Rajya Sabha elections and the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls last month.

    All five candidates of the BJP had won the Legislative Council polls held for 10 seats, while with its own numbers the BJP could have won only four seats.

    The Shiv Sena and the NCP won two seats each, while the Congress could only bag one seat.

    “There are some concerns in the NCP and Congress over guarding their votes.

    “The Congress already faced an embarrassment in the Legislative Council election when one of its candidate lost against the BJP. We do not want it to happen again,”” a senior Congress leader said.

    The BJP currently has 106 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly along with 40 MLAs belonging to the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, besides 10 independents who support the BJP.

    ““Without cross-voting, Murmu cannot get the votes of 200 MLAs, as claimed by CM Shinde. If Murmu gets 200 votes, it will be a further setback for the Congress, NCP and the Shiv Sena,” a political analyst said.

    The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena with 15 MLAs has announced support for Murmu.

    The NCP and Congress have 53 and 44 MLAs, respectively.

    Of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, 23 MPs belong to the BJP, 18 to Shiv Sena, four to NCP, and one to Congress.

    Of the rest two MPs, one belongs to the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and another is Independent.

    Various political parties in the state are also taking extra efforts to ensure none of the votes cast by their MLAs and MPs turn invalid in the presidential election.

  • Presidential polls: Electoral fate of Murmu, Sinha to be stored in ballot boxes, not EVMs

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Ever wondered why electronic voting machines, used in four Lok Sabha elections and 127 assembly polls since 2004, are not deployed in polls to elect the President and Vice President of India, members of Rajya Sabha, and members of state legislative councils? The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregators of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

    Voters press the button against the name of the candidate of their choice and the one who bags the maximum number of votes is declared elected.

    But the election of the President is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

    In accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, every elector can mark as many preferences, as there are candidates contesting the election.

    These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1,2,3, 4, 5 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference, in the space provided in column 2 of the ballot paper.

    In Monday’s election Droupadi Murmu of the NDA and Yashwant Sinha, backed by the opposition are the two candidates.

    The EVMs, officials explained, are not designed to register this system of voting.

    The EVM is an aggregator of votes and under the system of proportional representation, the machine will have to compute votes based on preference and it requires an altogether different technology.

    In other words, a different type of EVM would be needed.

    According to the August, 2021 issue of ‘My Vote Matters’, a quarterly magazine of the Election Commission, since 2004, EVMs have been used in four Lok Sabha and 127 assembly elections.

    According to the EC website, first conceived in 1977 in the Election Commission, the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), Hyderabad was assigned the task to design and develop EVMs.

    In 1979 a prototype was developed, which was demonstrated by the Election Commission before the representatives of political parties on August 6, 1980.

    The Bharat Electronic Ltd (BEL), Bengaluru, another public-sector undertaking, was co-opted along with ECIL to manufacture EVMs once a broad consensus was reached on its introduction.

    The machines were first used in the assembly election in Kerala in May, 1982.

    However, the absence of a specific law prescribing its use led to the Supreme Court striking down that election.

    Subsequently, in 1989, Parliament amended the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to create a provision for the use of EVMs in elections.

    A general consensus on its introduction could be reached only in 1998 and these were used in 25 legislative assembly constituencies spread across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

    In the assembly elections held in May 2001 in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal, the EVMs were used in all the assembly constituencies.

    Since then, for every state assembly election, the Commission has used the EVMs.

    In the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, more than 10 lakh EVMs were used in all 543 parliamentary constituencies of the country.

    NEW DELHI: Ever wondered why electronic voting machines, used in four Lok Sabha elections and 127 assembly polls since 2004, are not deployed in polls to elect the President and Vice President of India, members of Rajya Sabha, and members of state legislative councils? The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregators of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

    Voters press the button against the name of the candidate of their choice and the one who bags the maximum number of votes is declared elected.

    But the election of the President is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

    In accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, every elector can mark as many preferences, as there are candidates contesting the election.

    These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1,2,3, 4, 5 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference, in the space provided in column 2 of the ballot paper.

    In Monday’s election Droupadi Murmu of the NDA and Yashwant Sinha, backed by the opposition are the two candidates.

    The EVMs, officials explained, are not designed to register this system of voting.

    The EVM is an aggregator of votes and under the system of proportional representation, the machine will have to compute votes based on preference and it requires an altogether different technology.

    In other words, a different type of EVM would be needed.

    According to the August, 2021 issue of ‘My Vote Matters’, a quarterly magazine of the Election Commission, since 2004, EVMs have been used in four Lok Sabha and 127 assembly elections.

    According to the EC website, first conceived in 1977 in the Election Commission, the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. (ECIL), Hyderabad was assigned the task to design and develop EVMs.

    In 1979 a prototype was developed, which was demonstrated by the Election Commission before the representatives of political parties on August 6, 1980.

    The Bharat Electronic Ltd (BEL), Bengaluru, another public-sector undertaking, was co-opted along with ECIL to manufacture EVMs once a broad consensus was reached on its introduction.

    The machines were first used in the assembly election in Kerala in May, 1982.

    However, the absence of a specific law prescribing its use led to the Supreme Court striking down that election.

    Subsequently, in 1989, Parliament amended the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to create a provision for the use of EVMs in elections.

    A general consensus on its introduction could be reached only in 1998 and these were used in 25 legislative assembly constituencies spread across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

    In the assembly elections held in May 2001 in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal, the EVMs were used in all the assembly constituencies.

    Since then, for every state assembly election, the Commission has used the EVMs.

    In the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, more than 10 lakh EVMs were used in all 543 parliamentary constituencies of the country.

  • Chirag in NDA meet on presidential poll preparation, says his presence due to support to Murmu

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan on Sunday attended a meeting of the BJP-led NDA on the presidential poll preparation, a significant development as he had kept away from the ruling alliance’s gatherings after walking out of the coalition during the 2020 Bihar assembly polls.

    Paswan, however, told PTI that attending the meeting did not mean he was again a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

    The second-term Lok Sabha MP walked into the venue of the meeting along with several other MPs, mostly from the BJP, where a demonstration on the voting for the presidential poll was given on the eve of the election.

    The Jamui MP, however, said later that his presence at the meeting was because of his support to the ruling alliance’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.

    She also joined the MPs later.

    Paswan said he was invited to attend the meeting.

    “It does not mean that I am part of the NDA,” he told PTI.

    Paswan had quit the NDA in Bihar due to his opposition to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), the biggest alliance member after the BJP.

    He had then claimed that he remained a BJP ally at the national level and had quit the grouping in Bihar for state-specific reasons.

    However, the JD(U)’s stiff resistance ensured that he did not attend NDA meetings.

    The BJP’s invitation to him to attend a ruling alliance’s meeting ahead of Parliament’s budget session had invited a sharp reaction from Kumar’s party, leading to Paswan skipping it.

    JD(U) MPs, including its president Lalan Singh, also attended the meeting held in the Parliament complex on Sunday.

    Paswan’s relations with the BJP had also soured after his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras split the Lok Janshakti Party and was joined by all other party MPs.

    The Paras faction was recognised as the real LJP in Lok Sabha, and he was sworn in as a minister in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

    Chirag Paswan had also taken swipes at the BJP following his eviction from a government bungalow, first allotted to his father and stalwart Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan.

    NEW DELHI: Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan on Sunday attended a meeting of the BJP-led NDA on the presidential poll preparation, a significant development as he had kept away from the ruling alliance’s gatherings after walking out of the coalition during the 2020 Bihar assembly polls.

    Paswan, however, told PTI that attending the meeting did not mean he was again a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

    The second-term Lok Sabha MP walked into the venue of the meeting along with several other MPs, mostly from the BJP, where a demonstration on the voting for the presidential poll was given on the eve of the election.

    The Jamui MP, however, said later that his presence at the meeting was because of his support to the ruling alliance’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.

    She also joined the MPs later.

    Paswan said he was invited to attend the meeting.

    “It does not mean that I am part of the NDA,” he told PTI.

    Paswan had quit the NDA in Bihar due to his opposition to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), the biggest alliance member after the BJP.

    He had then claimed that he remained a BJP ally at the national level and had quit the grouping in Bihar for state-specific reasons.

    However, the JD(U)’s stiff resistance ensured that he did not attend NDA meetings.

    The BJP’s invitation to him to attend a ruling alliance’s meeting ahead of Parliament’s budget session had invited a sharp reaction from Kumar’s party, leading to Paswan skipping it.

    JD(U) MPs, including its president Lalan Singh, also attended the meeting held in the Parliament complex on Sunday.

    Paswan’s relations with the BJP had also soured after his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras split the Lok Janshakti Party and was joined by all other party MPs.

    The Paras faction was recognised as the real LJP in Lok Sabha, and he was sworn in as a minister in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

    Chirag Paswan had also taken swipes at the BJP following his eviction from a government bungalow, first allotted to his father and stalwart Dalit leader Ram Vilas Paswan.

  • Presidential polls: Political parties in Maharashtra take precautions to ensure votes do not become invalid

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Various political parties in Maharashtra are taking extra efforts to ensure none of the votes cast by their MLAs and MPs turn invalid in Monday’s presidential election.

    MLAs and MPs form the electoral college to elect the President of India.

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has fielded Droupadi Murmu for the Presidential election.

    Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha is the candidate of the Opposition.

    A Maharashtra BJP leader said on Sunday that the party has taken extra efforts to educate each of its MLAs and MPs on voting for the Presidential polls to avoid their ballots getting invalidated for any lacunae.

    The BJP had conducted mock voting sessions for the MLAs and MPs.

    “In 2017 (Presidential election), of the total votes cast, 77 were invalidated at the national level. We do not know how many invalidated votes were from Maharashtra but we want to avoid any such embarrassment this time,” said the BJP leader.

    The BJP has 106 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly along with 40 MLAs belonging to the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena besides ten independents who support the BJP.

    The Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray with 15 MLAs has supported Murmu.

    The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress have 53 and 44 MLAs, respectively.

    Of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, 23 MPs belong to the BJP, 18 to Shiv Sena, four to NCP, and one to Congress.

    Of the rest two MPs, one belongs to the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and another is Independent.

    The Congress and the NCP had organised meetings with their MLAs and MPs to ensure that they vote for the Opposition candidate Sinha and that cross-voting is avoided.

    MUMBAI: Various political parties in Maharashtra are taking extra efforts to ensure none of the votes cast by their MLAs and MPs turn invalid in Monday’s presidential election.

    MLAs and MPs form the electoral college to elect the President of India.

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has fielded Droupadi Murmu for the Presidential election.

    Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha is the candidate of the Opposition.

    A Maharashtra BJP leader said on Sunday that the party has taken extra efforts to educate each of its MLAs and MPs on voting for the Presidential polls to avoid their ballots getting invalidated for any lacunae.

    The BJP had conducted mock voting sessions for the MLAs and MPs.

    “In 2017 (Presidential election), of the total votes cast, 77 were invalidated at the national level. We do not know how many invalidated votes were from Maharashtra but we want to avoid any such embarrassment this time,” said the BJP leader.

    The BJP has 106 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly along with 40 MLAs belonging to the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena besides ten independents who support the BJP.

    The Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray with 15 MLAs has supported Murmu.

    The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress have 53 and 44 MLAs, respectively.

    Of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, 23 MPs belong to the BJP, 18 to Shiv Sena, four to NCP, and one to Congress.

    Of the rest two MPs, one belongs to the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and another is Independent.

    The Congress and the NCP had organised meetings with their MLAs and MPs to ensure that they vote for the Opposition candidate Sinha and that cross-voting is avoided.

  • Presidential polls: Respect Droupadi Murmu, but will back Yashwanth Sinha, says AAP

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The AAP will support opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the Presidential Poll, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said after a political advisory committee (PAC) meeting of the party on Saturday.

    Sinha is in fray for the top constitutional post of the country with Droupadi Murmu, the candidate chosen by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

    “We respect Droupadi Murmu but the AAP will support the opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha,” Singh said.

    WATCH | 

    The meeting was attended by AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Punjab MP Raghav Chadha, MLA Atishi, and other members of the PAC.

    Voting for the Presidential poll will take place on Monday.

    ALSO READ | Prez polls: Oppn candidate Yashwant Sinha cancels Mumbai visit after Shiv Sena backs Droupadi Murmu

    The AAP is the only non-BJP, non-Congress outfit having governments in two states — Delhi and Punjab. It has 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from the two states including three from Delhi.

    Also, the party has a total 156 MLAs including 92 in Punjab, 62 in Delhi and two in Goa.

    NEW DELHI: The AAP will support opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the Presidential Poll, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said after a political advisory committee (PAC) meeting of the party on Saturday.

    Sinha is in fray for the top constitutional post of the country with Droupadi Murmu, the candidate chosen by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

    “We respect Droupadi Murmu but the AAP will support the opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha,” Singh said.

    WATCH | 

    The meeting was attended by AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Punjab MP Raghav Chadha, MLA Atishi, and other members of the PAC.

    Voting for the Presidential poll will take place on Monday.

    ALSO READ | Prez polls: Oppn candidate Yashwant Sinha cancels Mumbai visit after Shiv Sena backs Droupadi Murmu

    The AAP is the only non-BJP, non-Congress outfit having governments in two states — Delhi and Punjab. It has 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from the two states including three from Delhi.

    Also, the party has a total 156 MLAs including 92 in Punjab, 62 in Delhi and two in Goa.