India’s next President to be elected today; counting of votes to begin at 11am

Counting of votes for presidential election to begin on Thursday/ Image courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: It is the D-day for the election of next President of India, as the counting of votes shall resume from 11am on Thursday, which is 2 days after voting took place. As per statistics, the numbers look in favour of NDA candidate Ramnath Kovind against UPA candidate Meira Kumar. The name of the next occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhawan would be known by 5.00PM. According to Lok Sabha secretary general Anoop Mishra, first, the ballot box of Parliament House would be opened, and then, the ballot boxes received from states would be counted on alphabetical basis. The votes would be counted on four separate tables and there would be eight rounds of counting. An Election Commission official who has witnessed previous two presidential polls said, usually results are declared around 5 PM. Close to 99 per cent voting was recorded for electing India's next president. The numbers are stacked in favour of the ruling coalition's nominee Ram Nath Kovind over the opposition's candidate Meira Kumar. Thirty two polling stations including the one in Parliament house were set up in various states. A total of 4,896 voters - 4,120 MLAs and 776 elected MPs - were eligible to cast their ballot. MLCs of states with legislative council are not part of the Electoral College. While the value of an MLA's vote depends on the population of the state he or she belongs to, the value of an MP's vote remains the same at 708.