Elected MPs and MLAs will vote today to elect the 15th President of India. Backed by the BJP, its allies and several non-NDA parties, Droupadi Murmu has the edge over Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha.
Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs will vote today (July 18) to elect the 15th President of India, with NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu having a clear edge over Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha.
The polling will take place in Parliament House and state legislative assemblies for which ballot boxes have already reached their destinations. The counting of voteshttps://spoindia.org/if-elected-president-will-ensure-caa-is-not-implemented-says-yashwant-sinha/ will take place at Parliament House on July 21 and the next President will take oath on July 25.
The electoral college which elects the president through the system of proportional representation comprises elected MPs and members of state legislative assemblies. Nominated MPs and MLAs, and members of legislative councils are not entitled to vote in this election.
Backed by the BJP, its allies and several non-NDA parties, Droupadi Murmu is a shoo-in for the presidency. With regional parties like the BJD, YSRCP, BSP, AIADMK, TDP, JD(S), Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena and JMM supporting her, Murmu’s vote share is likely to reach nearly 60 per cent. If elected, she will become the first woman from the tribal community to occupy the top constitutional post.
On the other hand, Yashwant Sinha has the backing of the Congress, NCP, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, RJD, CPI, CPI(M), TRS, DMK, AIMIM, National Conference, RLD and a few other smaller parties. However, it is expected that he will fall far short of the numbers needed to clinch victory.
WHO IS DROUPADI MURMU?
A Santhal tribal by birth and a resident of Odisha, Droupadi Murmu quit a secure government job to successfully contest a councilor’s election in 1997. The same year, she was appointed vice-president of the BJP’s Scheduled Tribes wing.
Within three years, she got elected to the Odisha assembly and went on to become minister of state (independent charge) for commerce and industry and the fisheries and animal resources development minister.
Murmu’s political career has been no smooth sailing though. After winning two consecutive assembly polls, she then lost two successive state elections in 2009 and 2014. She has also battled multiple challenges in her private life, losing her two sons and husband to personal tragedies.
Overcoming these setbacks, Murmu gained rich experience in administration and governance. She became the first member of the tribal community to have served as the governor of Jharkhand for a full term. She was once part of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Cabinet in Odisha when Naveen Patnaik formed the government with the support of the BJP.
WHO IS YASHWANT SINHA?
A seasoned bureaucrat, politician and government official, Yashwant Sinha rose to prominence holding key roles in successive BJP regimes since the 1990s. His political career has been something of a roller-coaster ride: he began his journey in the Janata Party in 1984, switched to the BJP in 1992, served as cabinet minister twice, quit the saffron party in 2018, before joining the TMC in 2021.
Sinha is also an author — he penned a comprehensive account of his years as finance minister titled ‘Confessions of a Swadeshi Reformer’.
After years of criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government’s policies, he was selected in June 2022 by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance to run as the Opposition candidate for president. manish
