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PRESIDENTIAL POLL |
BJP concedes defeat before counting begins -
First Post
BJP leader Sudheendra Kulkarni has admitted that it is a foregone conclusion that UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee will win the Presidential polls today. “Just because we voted against Pranab, does not mean we have any less regard for Pranab-da. He is a great leader”, Kulkarni said in an interview with the Times Now channel. Kulkarni added that the main reason behind the decision to back Sangma for President, was getting the NDA together with a post Presidential poll scenario in mind. Kulkarni added that he hoped Pranab Mukherjee would make a good President, adding that he hoped that he displayed the necessary acumen to guide India through what is looking like an extremely difficult time for the country. |
Pranab Mukherjee, crisis manager of Indian politics, set to become President -
Hindustan Times
Counting of votes for the 14th Presidential election began in Parliament House on Sunday in which UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee has a clear edge over BJP-backed Purno A Sangma. Counting of ballots began amidst tight security in Parliament House in New Delhi in the presence of authorised representatives of both Mukherjee and Sangma. The ballot boxes of votes cast in Parliament House were taken up first for counting after which those from the states will be opened. |
President poll: Less than 75% polling by legislators -
Economic Times
In the course of the seven-hours of polling to elect the 13th president, nearly 72% of 4,896 member electoral college voted. Though the results will only be announced on Sunday, UPA's candidate, former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, is expected to win by a huge margin, defeating his challenger former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma. Polling began in Parliament and state legislative assemblies at 10 am. About 600 lawmakers had voted within the first two-and-a-half hours, according to minister of state for parliamentary affairs Rajiv Shukla. |
Presidential Polls in state peaceful -
E-Pao
Even as elected representatives of Manipur exercise their franchise to elect the 13th President of the country during the voting conducted at the Committee Room of State Legislative Assembly here today, an upbeat Chief Minister Okram Ibobi has expressed certainty over all the 60 MLAs giving their votes in favour of Pranab Mukherjee, UPA-sponsored candidate. The total number of value vote for Manipur in the Presidential polls is 3,204. The voting for the Presidential election in the state was scheduled from 10 am to 5 pm at the Committee room of the State Legislative Assembly today. |
Presidential poll: All MLAs from Punjab, Haryana, HP, except Congress general secretary cast votes -
Times of India
All the legislators of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal, barring Punjab Congress general secretary Arvind Khanna exercised their franchise in the presidential polls on Thursday. Khanna could not vote as he was unwell. In Punjab, 116 out of the 117 legislators, including former minister Bibi Jagir Kaur, who was recently convicted and sentenced to five-year rigorous imprisonment in the case of death of her daughter, cast her vote. |
Mulayam's gaffe: votes for Sangma, then rectifies it -
New Delhi, Jul 19 - SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, who backed UPA Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee, today mistakenly cast his vote in favour of BJP-backed P A Sangma, but realised it in time and took remedial steps. Yadav, who was among the early voters, marked his vote in favour of Sangma instead of Mukherjee but as soon as he realised the mistake he pointed it out to the polling officers and sought a fresh ballot paper, sources said. The SP chief marked his correct preference on the fresh ballot paper issued to him by the polling officer. |
Prez polls: Voting begins in Gujarat -
DNA
Voting for the presidential election began in Gandhinagar on Thursday morning where Guajrat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was amongst the first few to cast his vote. Modi arrived at the polling booth located in the Gujarat Assembly premises just before the official time of voting at 10am and casted his vote. Polling was brisk in the morning as one day assembly session of Gujarat Legislative Assembly is also scheduled today. |
President poll: Pranab Mukherjee casts his vote with PM, Sonia Gandhi -
Surabhi Malik, NDTV
With a tilak on his forehead a confident Pranab Mukherjee cast his vote in Parliament today. He was flanked by PM Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and looked all set to take over the top job. Mr Mukherjee has been doing his homework. He has been reading up on past Presidents. His poll managers say he should have his bags all packed to move into Rashtrapati Bhawan with almost 65 per cent of the electoral college expected to vote for him in the Presidential elections being held today. |
Stage set for Prez poll today -
Hindustan Times
The stage is all set for the Presidential poll on Thursday with UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee expected to romp home with a substantial margin against BJP-backed P A Sangma. The Congress-led UPA has established a clear edge over the opposition not only in terms of electoral arithmetic,but also by some apt political management. As many as 4,896 lawmakers -- 776 MPs and 4,120 MLAs -- are eligible to vote in Parliament and state assemblies. The total vote value is 10.98 lakh and a winning candidate needs to get 5,49,442 vote value if all of them exercise franchise. |
Mamata retreats, to back Pranab -
Indian Express
With just two days left for the presidential election, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee ended all speculation today as she announced that her party has decided to support UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee. Her turnaround is being seen as a signal that she has opted to stay within the UPA fold till 2014. However, the West Bengal Chief Minister made no attempt to hide the fact that the decision to back Mukherjee was taken due to coalition compulsions. “We should have been smiling today, but we are not. It is a painful decision for us but we had to take this step in the greater interest of democracy. |
Prez polls could be as significant as 1969: Sangma -
LensOnNews
Bhubaneswar, July 15 - Enthused by backing from 18 political parties, opposition Presidential Candidate P A Sangma today hoped to draw support from some more parties and said the July 19 polls could be as significant as the one held in 1969 when V V Giri defeated the Congress candidate. |
President poll: Pranab appeals Mamata to vote for him -
LensOnNews
Srinagar, July 15 - UPA Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said he has been making appeals to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee every day asking her to vote for him. "I appeal to her almost every day...that is for her to decide," Mukherjee told reporters when asked if he would appeal to the Trinamool Congress chief, an UPA ally at the Centre, to vote for him. |
Poll panel rejects Sangma petition against Pranab -
Indian Express
Citing jurisdictional grounds, the Election Commission on Tuesday rejected a petition filed by the Opposition-backed Presidential candidate P A Sangma challenging UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee’s nomination. The EC said the Supreme Court was the only forum to decide on doubts and disputes relating to the Presidential election, citing a host of court rulings and constitutional and legal provisions in support of its contention.
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Found: dozen signs of Pranab -
Telegraph
If rivals of Pranab Mukherjee dug up two different signatures of the UPA President candidate on Indian Statistical Institute papers, his supporters have discovered almost a dozen on various documents of Parliament, party and the government. A senior cabinet minister revealed today: “We tried to check how he actually signed after the controversy erupted. We noticed he regularly put different signatures on different kinds of documents. “At times, he would write Pranab with a capital P, at times with a small p. Sometimes he would write Pranab Mukherjee. We never noticed it earlier but there are several samples in our possession now.” |
Sangma moves EC -
Telegraph
BJP-backed presidential candidate P.A. Sangma’s camp today petitioned the Election Commission seeking re-scrutiny of Pranab Mukherjee’s nomination. It promised to take the issue to its “logical end”, indicating an election review petition in the Supreme Court if it failed to get a favourable response from the poll panel. Led by Sangma’s personal adviser Subramanian Swamy and his authorised representative, BJP leader Satya Pal Jain and BJD’s Bhartruhari Mahtab, the camp submitted a 180-page petition to the poll panel and urged it to direct the returning officer to re-scrutinise Pranab’s nomination papers.
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| How the President is elected |
The electoral college for the Presidential election constitutes the elected members of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the legislative assemblies of all States, including Delhi and the Union territory of Pondicherry. The nominated members of the Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies are not eligible to vote in this election.
The vote of each MP and MLA has a predetermined value, which is arrived at on the basis of the population they represent. The value assigned to an MP’s vote is 708. The MLA’s vote value varies, depending on the population of each state. The wining candidate must secure at least 50% of the total value of votes polled. |
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Presidential Election Schedule
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Issue of notification
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June 16
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Last date for the filling nominations
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June 30
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Scrutiny of nominations
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July 02
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Last date for withdrawals
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July 04
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Polling
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July 21
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How they
stack up
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UPA & ALLIES
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CONGRESS
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3,30,485
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TRINAMOOL
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48,049
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DMK
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21,780
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NCP
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23,850
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RJD
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8,934
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NC
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5,556
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IUML
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4,456
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JVM
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3,352
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AIMIM
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1,744
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BPF
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2,808
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KER CONG
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2,076
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RLD
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6,220
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LJP
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881
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TOTAL
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4,60,191
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NDA & ALLIES
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BJP
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2,23,885
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JD(U)
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42,153
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SAD
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11,564
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SHS
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18,495
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JMM
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4,584
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AGP
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3,284
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JANHIT CONG
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820
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TOTAL
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3,04,785
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THE REST
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SP
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68,812
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BSP
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43,349
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AIADMK
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36,920
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LEFT
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51,682
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BJD
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30,215
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TDP
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20,516
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JD(S)
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6,138
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PDP
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1,584
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TRS
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3,192
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TOTAL
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2,62,408
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Grand Total
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10,98,882
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