JOIN USDroupadi Murmu wins presidential polls with over 64% votes
India on Thursday created history by choosing a tribal as the country's president for the first time as ruling NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu defeated joint Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, bagging votes with a value of 6.76 lakh against her rival’s 3.80 lakh.
The announcement came at 9:25 pm after counting of votes of all MPs and MLAs from 30 states and union territories concluded at Parliament House, even as congratulatory messages poured in from all sides of the political spectrum. The President-elect garnered 64.03 per cent votes while Sinha got 35.97 per cent.
She will be sworn in as President on Monday and will succeed Ram Nath Kovind, the country’s second Dalit President. Besides being the first tribal to become the First Citizen of the country, she will be the second woman after Pratibha Patil to become the President of the country.
Her electoral rival Sinha congratulated her and said, "I hope -- indeed, every Indian hopes -- that as the 15th President of India, she functions as the Custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour. I join my fellow countrymen in extending best wishes to her."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Murmu after Returning Officer P C Mody, who is Rajya Sabha Secretary General, announced that she has garnered 5.77 lakh votes after counting votes of all MPs and MLAs from 20 states.
"India scripts history. At a time when 1.3 billion Indians are marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a daughter of India hailing from a tribal community born in a remote part of eastern India has been elected our President!" Modi tweeted.
"Droupadi Murmu Ji's life, her early struggles, her rich service and her exemplary success motivates each and every Indian. She has emerged as a ray of hope for our citizens, especially the poor, marginalised and the downtrodden," he added.
Of the 4,754 votes polled, 53 were invalid, including those of 15 MPs. The winning margin was set at 5,28,421 by dividing the first preference votes secured by both the candidates by two and then adding one to it.
Murmu got 2,824 first preference votes with a value of 6,76,803 votes, while her rival Sinha got 1,877 first preference votes with a value of 3,80,177. Though he lost, Sinha has emerged as the losing candidate who gathered the most votes in the Presidential election history.
"As the first preference votes secured by Droupadi Murmu was greater than the requisite quota, I, in my capacity as Returning Officer, declare that Droupadi Murmu has been duly elected to the Office of the President of India," Mody told reporters.
Compared to 2017 polls, the NDA candidate this time has polled less votes as outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind had received 7.02 lakh votes (65.65 per cent). Kovind’s opponent Meira Kumar had got 3,67,314 votes (34.35 per cent).
An analysis showed that Murmu got at least 15,000 votes more than what was pledged to her by NDA and other parties. Yashwant Sinha was pledged 4.19 lakh votes but he fell behind by at least 39,000 votes. BJP sources claimed at least 17 MPs and 104 MLAs might have cross voted in favour of Murmu.