Indian Presidential Election

Odisha Congress served a show cause notice to MLA Mohammed Moquim on Friday for voting in favour of Droupadi Murmu in the presidential polls.

Leader of opposition in West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Friday claimed that several TMC MLAs and MPs voted in favour of President-elect Droupadi Murmu. Of the 291 MLAs who voted, 216 were cast in favour of opposition presidential nominee Yashwant Sinha, while 71 votes were cast in favour of Murmu. Four votes were declared invalid. "As promised by me all 70 @BJP4Bengal (BJP) MLAs voted in favour of Smt. Draupadi Murmu ji. While 1 @AITCofficial (TMC) MLA cross voted in favour of the President Elect, 4 TMC MLAs ensured that their votes were regarded invalid. 71 votes were polled in favour of Smt. Murmu ji in WB Assembly (sic)," Adhikari tweeted. "Out of the 34 @AITCofficial MPs (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha combined) who cast their votes at the WB Assembly, at least 4 cross voted in favour of Smt. Draupadi Murmu ji. 2 got counted in her favour and other 2 were regarded invalid. Saffron greetings to those 4 TMC MPs," he added. The BJP had kept its MLAs at a luxury hotel in New To

The BJP may lack elected MPs and MLAs from Kerala but the party's state unit is on cloud nine over NDA's Droupadi Murmu receiving one vote in the Presidential polls from the state

Ahead of the general election, the opposition continues to be at the receiving end as shown by the poll, which was tilted to one side, following some cases of cross voting for Droupadi.Murmu

Gets more than 64% of the votes cast; first tribal woman to occupy the highest office

A sizeable number of MLAs from across state assemblies cross-voted in support of Droupadi Murmu, defying their parties' stated support to Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, sources said on Thursday.

Several Opposition leaders, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Congress' Rahul Gandhi, congratulated Droupadi Murmu for emerging victorious in the presidential election. Murmu defeated Opposition's Yashwant Sinha who conceded defeat. Banerjee congratulated the NDA presidential nominee and said the country will sincerely look up to Murmu as the "Head of State to protect the ideals of the Constitution and the custodian of our democracy". The TMC had supported Sinha, the joint candidate of major non-BJP parties, in the election held on July 18. "I would like to congratulate Hon'ble Presidential-Elect Smt Draupadi Murmu. The country will sincerely look up to you as the Head of State to protect the ideals of our Constitution & be the custodian of our democracy, especially when (the) nation is plagued with so many dissensions (sic)," she tweeted. The NCP chief wished Murmu success. Heartfelt congratulations Smt Droupadi Murmu on being ...

President Ram Nath Kovind, who rose from being a grassroots level politician to becoming the country's first citizen, has long been an advocate of egalitarianism and integrity in the society. Sworn in as the country's 14th President on July 25, 2017, he is all set to bid adieu to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday after completing his full five-year term which was marked by the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. He brought to the office of President a rich experience of working across the spectrum of the republic, from the grassroots to the apex court and Parliament. Former Jharkhand governor and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee Droupadi Murmu will occupy the top constitutional post. Murmu, who defeated Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, will be the first woman from the tribal community to become the president. Kovind, a passionate advocate of education as a tool for social empowerment, has been actively supporting greater participation of women in nation-building and .

President-elect Droupadi Murmu. The arc of triumph forged through personal tragedy is complete for the unassuming politician who started public life as a councillor in Odisha

The NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu crossed the 50 per cent mark after the third round of counting to emerge victorious in the poll over her rival Yashwant Sinha

Of total 748 votes of MPs, NDA's Droupadi Murmu gets 540, Opposition's Yashwant Sinha gets 208, says Returning Officer

The counting of votes to elect the 15th President of India will begin at 11 am on Thursday at the Parliament House here

India on Thursday will know who will succeed incumbent Ram Nath Kovind to become the country's 15th President, as counting of votes for the presidential election begins at 11am

Several legislators in states on Monday said they have cross-voted in favour of NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu by not following their party line in the presidential election. Among them are NCP legislators in Jharkhand and Gujarat and Congress MLAs in Haryana and Odisha who said they followed the voice of their conscience. An Akali MLA in Punjab boycotted the presidential election citing non-redressal of issues relating to the state. In Assam, IUDF MLA Karimuddin Barbhuiyan claimed that around 20 Congress MLAs from the state voted for Murmu on Monday. In Uttar Pradesh, Shivpal Singh Yadav also claimed that he would never support Yashwant Sinha, as he had once accused his brother and Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav of being an "ISI agent". Haryana Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who cross-voted in last month's Rajya Sabha polls, said he has voted according to his conscience in the presidential election too. Indicating that he supported Murmu rather than Opposition's Yashwa

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday arrived on a wheelchair to cast his vote in the election of the country's 15th President.

From presidential elections to coronavirus cases, the Monsoon session of the Parliament and the emergency in Sri Lanka, catch all the latest developments from across the globe here

Voting is underway at 'Vidhan Soudha' here for the Presidential election where the NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint opposition pick Yashwant Sinha

Key bills that are relatively non-controversial have been listed. Four have already been cleared by departmental standing committees, 24 new ones to be introduced

The Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra is likely to expand its cabinet after the Presidential polls, voting for which is scheduled to be held on Monday, sources said. After his rebellion led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, Shinde on June 30 took oath as the chief minister with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy. However, no date has been announced by the BJP or the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction over the cabinet expansion. The monsoon session of the Legislative Assembly, scheduled to begin on July 18, was postponed as the state government comprises only two members as of now- the CM and the Deputy CM. "There is a possibility of distributing cabinet portfolios on July 20 or 21, followed by swearing-in and holding the monsoon session within the next 10 days. This would enable ministers to learn about their new ministries so that they can answer questions on the floor of the House," a senior BJP leader said on Sunday.

The JD(S) on Friday formally announced its support to NDA's presidential candidate Draupadi Murmu, in the election to be held on July 18. The JD(S) LP Deputy leader Bandeppa Kashempur said the unanimous decision was arrived at the JD(S) legislature party meeting held in Vidhana Soudha. JD(S) second-in-command and former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, the party's state president C M Ibrahim and few other legislators attended the meeting virtually. He said party supremo H D Deve Gowda had stressed on the importance of women empowerment when he was the PM of the country. "A tribal woman becoming the president of the country is a matter of pride. The selection of candidate for presidential post is according to the wish of Deve Gowda," Kashempur said. The party decided to support keeping in mind her (Murmu) background and the community she belongs to, the JD(S) MLA said. The party affiliation is not a matter of consideration but the background of the candidate. Kashempur said Murmu