Presidential Election: 44 parties declared support for Droupadi Murmu, the former Governor of Jharkhand.
India appears firmly set to have its first tribal President as Droupadi Murmu, the NDA's choice, has far outstripped Opposition's Yashwant Sinha after two rounds of counting. There are two more rounds to go.
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Droupadi Murmu is close to halfway mark after two rounds of counting. Ms Murmu has accumulated 45 per cent of the total value of votes. Yashwant Sinha is at 27 per cent.
Among the states where votes have been counted include Andhra Pradesh -- where Ms Murmu received almost all the votes -- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisharh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand.
The counting process started at 11 at the Parliament House and after preliminaries, the actual counting started at 1.30 pm. The trends became clear after the first round where Ms Murmu stood at 39 per cent.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has already congratulated Ms Murmu. "The first women tribal to become President is a momentous occasion and thanks to PM Modi for giving such unique gift. There is absolute euphoria in Assam, particularly in the tea gardens, people are very happy," he added.
The Delhi BJP has started its celebrations with a roadshow from the party headquarters, which will end at Rajpath. All state units of the BJP have also planned victory processions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, some senior members of his Cabinet and BJP chief J P Nadda are expected to visit Droupadi Murmu at her temporary lodgings in Teen Murti Marg to congratulate her after the results are declared.
Residents in Odisha's Rairangpur, the hometown of Ms Murmu, are already celebrating. They have got 20,000 sweets prepared. A tribal dance and victory procession are part of the plan after the results are out.
NDA's choice of Ms Murmu -- a tribal woman from Odisha and a former Jharkhand Governor -- worked as a move to split the Opposition and bring support from non-aligned parties, such as Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal and Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress.
The winner of the Presidential election is not the candidate who gets only the most votes, but the one who crosses a quota. This quota is determined by adding votes polled for each candidate, dividing by two, and adding '1' to it. Basically, one more than 50 per cent. If someone does not cross this at first, subsequent preferences marked on the ballot paper come into play.
The President-elect will take oath on July 25, a day after Ramnath Kovind's tenure ends.
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