Opposition parties' Vice Presidential candidate Margaret Alva files her nomination papers in the presence of Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, Sitaram Yechury, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and other opposition leaders at Parliament House (PTI)Presidential V-P Elections Highlights: The opposition’s pick for the Vice-Presidential polls, Margaret Alva filed her nomination at the Parliament House on Tuesday in the presence of Rahul Gandhi, Sitaram Yechury and Sharad Pawar, among others. “The coming together of the opposition to support my candidature for the post of Vice President of India, is a metaphor of the reality that is India. We come from various corners of this great country, speak different languages, and follow different religions and customs,” Alva stated in a press release.
Meanwhile, the polling in the Presidential elections ended on Monday with over 99 per cent of the total 4,796 electors casting their votes at the Parliament House and the state legislative assemblies. As many as 10 states and the Union Territory of Puducherry recorded a 100 per cent turnout.
By the time voting concluded, there were enough indications that NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu was set for an emphatic win against Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. Sources said eight MPs did not vote — Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dhotre (BJP); Syed Imtiaz Jaleel (AIMIM); Gajanan Kirtikar (Shiv Sena); Mohammad Sadique (Congress); T R Paarivendhar (DMK); Haji Fazlur Rehman and Atul Kumar Singh (BSP). Instances of cross-voting, mostly in favour of Murmu, were reported from many states including her home state Odisha and Jharkhand.
The next occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhavan will be announced on July 21. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
'Mr Ballot Box' carrying votes cast by the lawmakers in the presidential election in all states and Union territories reached the strongroom of Parliament on Tuesday evening.
The team from Manipur deposited the ballot box around 8 pm Tuesday. With this, polled material from all 30 stations including Delhi legislative assembly had reached the parliament house. The counting of votes will begin on July 21 morning to decide who will be the 15th President of India.
Elected MPs and MLAs are entitled to vote in this election, therefore voting also takes place in state legislative assemblies, but votes are counted in the national capital. The ballot box from the Delhi Legislative Assembly had reached the strong room late Monday night. (PTI)
The Opposition’s vice president candidate Margaret Alva on Tuesday said elections do not frighten her as winning and losing is a part of life but the trust of Parliamentarians across parties will help her bring people together and build a strong and united India.
In a statement after filing her nomination papers for the August 6 vice presidential election, she said the coming together of the opposition to support her candidature for the post “is a metaphor of the reality that is India”.
“We come from various corners of this great country, speak different languages, and follow different religions and customs. Our unity, in our diversity, is our strength. Read more
The Congress in Karnataka on Tuesday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against the NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu and others alleging violations of the provisions of law in the July 18 election.
The party alleged that the ruling BJP in Karnataka had bribed and exerted undue influence on its MLAs on July 17 and 18.
The Congress Legislative Party leader Siddaramaiah and state party president D K Shivakumar in their complaint alleged that the MLAs, who were the voters, were provided luxurious stay in a five-star hotel. (PTI)
The opposition’s pick for the Vice-Presidential polls, Margaret Alva filed her nomination at the Parliament House on Tuesday in the presence of Rahul Gandhi, Sitaram Yechury and Sharad Pawar, among others. “The coming together of the opposition to support my candidature for the post of Vice President of India, is a metaphor of the reality that is India. We come from various corners of this great country, speak different languages, and follow different religions and customs,” Alva stated in a press release.
Manoj C G writes: The Opposition revels in ridiculing the ruling BJP over its description of the Narendra Modi government’s every move as a “masterstroke”. It also rakes up the “politics of fear” as part of its ammunition to fire salvos at the saffron party.
The Modi dispensation’s choice of candidates in the Presidential and the Vice Presidential elections, however, shows that it is the BJP’s politics of imagination that the Opposition needs to master lest it would be outwitted time and again by the ruling party through the art of political symbolism backed by a seemingly compelling narrative.
The Congress’s withdrawal from the Opposition’s decision-taking stage did not help much. The BJP could easily outsmart them by fielding Droupadi Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha and ex-Jharkhand governor. The Opposition and even the UPA (with the JMM and the Shiv Sena extending support to Murmu) stood divided. There was evidently a lack of political imagination on their part. There are perhaps no right or wrong candidates at the Presidential level, where it may be, politically, the context, circumstances and narrative that matters in the final analysis. Read more
Guru Prakash Paswan writes: Although mentioned in the Preamble of the Constitution, justice and equality remained a ceremonial ideal on the walls of the government offices, from village panchayats to Parliament. Representation and dignity remained a distant dream for the socially disadvantaged sections of our society. This is why the selection of Droupadi Murmu as the NDA presidential candidate is a defining moment.
Similarly, the choice of Jagdeep Dhankhar for the position of Vice President is remarkable in multiple ways. His public life as an elected representative and a legal activist will certainly provide an extra edge in running the affairs of the Rajya Sabha. Read more
Announcing that he would “always strive to enhance democratic values of the country”, NDA nominee for Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar filed his nomination papers on Monday, flanked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top leaders of the ruling coalition.
“Never even in my dreams did I think a person with a humble background like me would get this opportunity. I am grateful to Prime Minister Modi and the leadership for giving a humble man from a kisan (farmer) family, like me, such a historic opportunity,” Dhankhar said after filing the nomination.
Three-time Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali on Monday ignored the party’s decision to back National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Droupadi Murmu in the presidential election and abstained from voting, claiming that he listened to the Sikh community and his conscience.
The 47-year-old Ayali, who is one of the SAD’s three legislators and the party leader in the Assembly, said, “I informed the party about my decision on Monday morning after discussing with voters of the area and a few Akali leaders. It is a question of your conscience and it didn’t allow me to vote for the NDA-backed candidate when they (NDA) are not standing by Punjab.”
Explaining his reasons in detail, the MLA said, “When the Centre has not solved any issue concerning Punjab — Punjab’s claim on Chandigarh, the SYL (Sutlej-Yamuna link canal) issue, Panjab University is being centralised, issue of Punjabi-speaking areas, the release of Sikh prisoners and many other issues. Hence, sometimes you have to listen to your ‘zameer (conscience)’.” Read more
More from India
On Monday, two legislators of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), one from Jharkhand and the other from Gujarat, cross-voted in favour of NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.
Speaking in Gandhinagar after casting his vote, Kandhal Jadeja, two-time MLA from Kutiyana Assembly constituency in Porbandar district of Gujarat, said, “I have voted for the BJP (the NDA candidate)… I have to stay in Gujarat and I vote keeping in mind the development works of my constituency. I do not have my selfish interest in mind while voting.”
In Ranchi, Kamlesh Singh, NCP’s lone MLA in Jharkhand, came out of the Vidhan Sabha and announced that he had voted for Murmu.
“Droupadi Murmu worked for the people of Jharkhand and I also maintained a personal relationship with her. Plus, my constituency has around 9,000 Adivasi votes that hold significance in Assembly elections,” Singh, MLA from Hussainabad constituency bordering Bihar, told The Indian Express. Read more
By the time voting concluded, there were enough indications that NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu was set for an emphatic win against Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha. Votes will be counted on July 21 and the next President will take oath on July 25.
The Election Commission said: “As per reports being received, out of a total of 771 Members of Parliament entitled to vote (05 vacant) and similarly out of total 4025 Members of the Legislative Assemblies entitled to vote (06 vacant and 02 disqualified), over 99% cast their votes today. However, 100% voting by MLAs was reported from Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Puducherry, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu.”
Instances of cross-voting, mostly in favour of Murmu, were reported from many states including her home state Odisha, Jharkhand where she was Governor, Gujarat and Haryana. Exactly how many MPs and MLAs cross-voted will be known when the votes are counted. Read more
🔴 Haryana Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who had cross-voted in last month’s Rajya Sabha polls, indicated that he had supported the NDA candidate.
🔴 SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali chose to boycott the poll and blamed the party leadership for not consulting him or the Sikh community before deciding to extend support to Murmu.
🔴 In Gujarat, NCP MLA Kandhal Jadeja said he voted for Murmu. He was issued showcause notices in 2017 and 2019 for voting against the whip in Rajya Sabha polls. His party colleague in Jharkhand, Kamlesh Singh, too backed Murmu.
🔴 In Odisha, Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim announced he had voted in favour of Murmu as she was the “daughter of Odisha”.
🔴 In Assam, the Congress and its erstwhile ally AIUDF engaged in a war of words. AIUDF MLA Karimuddin Barbhuiya said he had evidence that 20 legislators of the Opposition Congress had cross-voted but did not furnish any. Read more
A total of 283 MLAs from Maharashtra voted to elect the country’s next President amid concerns of possible cross-voting by Opposition MLAs in favour of NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu.
The Maharashtra assembly has a strength of 288 MLAs, which got reduced to 287 following the death of Shiv Sena legislator Ramesh Latke in May. Two jailed NCP MLAs, Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh, did not vote. The BJP MLA from Chinchwad constituency, Laxman Jagtap, did not vote due to ill health while another rebel Sena MLA from Alibaug in Raigad district, Mahendra Dalvi, did not vote on account of being convicted in a case in May 2022. Read more
BJP MP and film actor Sunny Deol and Union Minister Sanjay Dhotre were among those who missed casting their votes in the presidential poll on Monday. While Deol is abroad for medical treatment, Dhotre is in the ICU. Two MPs each from BJP and Shiv Sena, and one each from the BSP, Congress, SP and AIMIM were among those who did not cast their votes during the election.
BSP leader Atul Singh who is in jail could not vote. Shiv Sena leaders, Gajanan Kirtikar and Hemant Godse, also did not vote. AIMIM leader Imtiyaz Jaleel also was among the eight who did not vote. Senior leaders like Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman came in a PPE, while former PM Manmohan Singh and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav came in wheelchairs to cast their votes. (PTI)
Secretary General of Rajya Sabha PC Mody on Monday informed that 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. He also said that elector turnout was at 99.18%.
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde casts his vote for presidential election 2022.
Tripura CM Manik Saha, who resigned as a Rajya Sabha MP earlier this month, cast his vote as an MLA of the Tripura assembly on Monday.
Tripura has 60 legislators and two Lok Sabha parliamentarians. Ruling ally IPFT MLA Brishaketu Debbarma did not cast his vote as he was known to be sick. CPI(M) legislator Sudhan Das, BJP minister Rampada Jamatia and two Lok Sabha MPs Pratima Bhowmik and Rebati Tripura, were known to have cast their votes in Delhi. The rest of the legislators have cast their votes at Tripura Legislative Assembly.
According to the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, the polled ballot box for the Presidential election would be deposited to the office of the Returning Officer (Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi). It would be taken from the strong room of Tripura Legislative Assembly tomorrow morning to be flown to New Delhi from MBB Airport.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor after casting their votes in Presidential polls in the Parliament on Monday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah after casting his vote for Presidential elections on Monday.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan polls his vote for the Presidential polls in the Parliament.
Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali on Monday boycotted the presidential poll, saying issues related to Punjab remain unresolved and he was not consulted by his party leadership before deciding to back NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has three legislators in the 117-member Punjab Assembly. NDA's candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint opposition pick Yashwant Sinha.
In a video message, Ayali said he is boycotting the poll on his won and the party leadership did not consult him before deciding to extend support to Murmu.
However, the Dakha MLA said he has no opposition to the candidature of Murmu. "But when the party decided to vote for the BJP candidate, I was not consulted. Even the Sikh community was also not consulted," he said. --PTI