Presidential Polls 2022: Over 98% Turnout In Parliament, All Eyes Now On July 21 | Key Points

Presidential Polls 2022 Highlights: Several Congress and Samajwadi Party legislators cross-voted in favour of the NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu.

Artists paint portraits of presidential candidates Droupadi Murmu and Yashwant Sinha in Mumbai

Source : PTI

Elections to pick the 15th President of India ended on Monday at 5 pm, with MPs and MLAs across the country choosing between opposition pick Yashwant Sinha and NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu. The result appears to be a foregone conclusion, with Murmu likely to become the first tribal leader and second woman to occupy the top constitutional post.

Chief Returning Officer PC Mody said the presidential poll was conducted peacefully and cordially everywhere. There were also reports that some Congress and Samajwadi legislators cross-voted in favour of Murmu.

"Total turnout at Parliament was 98.91 per cent. Out of 736 electors (727 MPs, 9 MLAs) permitted by EC to vote in Parliament in presidential poll, 728 (719 MPs, 9 MLAs) voted," Mody said.

Presidential Polls 2022: Here Are The Top Developments

• Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs were entitled to vote in the election. The votes will be counted on July 21 and the next president will take oath on July 25.
• Several Congress, NCP, Samajwadi Party legislators cross-voted in favour of the NDA presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu, PTI reported. NCP legislators in Jharkhand and Gujarat and Congress MLAs in Haryana and Odisha said they followed the voice of their conscience.
• Haryana Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who had cross-voted in last month's Rajya Sabha polls, said, "Like Rajya Sabha, I have cast my vote in this election too as per my conscience," he told reporters.
• Senior Samajwadi MLA Shivpal Yadav said he voted for Draupadi Murmu, defying the party line, IANS reported. "Yashwant Sinha had once called Mulayam Singh Yadav an ISI agent and we can never support him. Hardcore SP leaders, those who follow Mulayam Singh's principles will never support a candidate who levelled such allegations," Yadav told reporters.
• Another SP MLA Shahjeel Islam, the Samajwadi Party MLA from Bareilly, has also reportedly cross-voted in the election.
• Earlier in the day, Yashwant Sinha appealed to parliamentarians and legislators to listen to their "inner voice" and support him. "This election is very important as it will decide the direction as to whether democracy will remain in India or will slowly end. The indications that we are getting is that we are moving towards its end," Sinha told reporters.
• Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali boycotted the poll and in a video message blamed the BJP-led Centre, previous Congress-led governments for not settling various issues related to Punjab.
• A visibly frail Manmohan Singh, former prime minister, came to vote in a wheelchair. Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, 82, also came in a wheelchair. Yadav, who faltered while casting his vote, was given another chance.
• In Patna, BJP MLA Mithilesh Kumar, who was in a road accident about a month ago, arrived on a stretcher to cast his vote.
• In Chennai, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin reached the polling booth straight from a hospital after being discharged following his recovery from Covid-19.

(With inputs from agencies)