Indian lawmakers voting to elect 15th president of the country

Indian lawmakers today (July 18, 2022) exercised their franchise to elect the country's 15th president in an election which may see Droupadi Murmu, a tribal woman, occupying the highest constitutional post for the first time.

Murmu, the candidate of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), is pitted against the opposition nominee and former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and appears set for a comfortable victory as a number of key regional parties like Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) have backed her candidature.

The electoral college for the presidential election comprises 543 Lok Sabha, 233 Rajya Sabha and 4,033 members of legislative assemblies in the states.

The total value of the parliamentarians' votes is 5,43,200, and that of assembly members 5,43,231 – totalling 1086431.

Presidential elections are held through secret ballot and lawmakers are not bound by party whip, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

The votes of presidential poll will be counted on July 21 and the new president will be sworn in on July 26 – a day after incumbent Ram Nath Kovind steps down after a five-year tenure.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among the Lok Sabha members who cast his vote in parliament complex this morning.

The NDA is the largest group in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, but it still needs support from smaller parties and independents to secure a win. The BJP is in power in 18 states and has 5,32,351 out of 1086431 votes.

However, the NDA is still short of the required majority by about 20,000 votes and is counting on friendly regional parties to support its nominee.