Presidential Polls: Face-off Between Draupadi Murmu and Yashwant Sinha Today

With the tenure of President Ram Nath Kovind coming to an end on July 24, around 4,800 MPs and MLAs will cast their votes on Monday to elect the 15th President of India.

The polling is scheduled to take place between 10 am and 5 pm in Parliament House and state legislative assemblies.

Meanwhile, counting of votes will take place on July 21 and the new President will take oath on July 25.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had announced Draupadi Murmu as the candidate, former union minister Yashwant Sinha had been selected as the joint opposition candidate for the presidential polls.

With several regional parties extending their support to Murmu, a former Jharkhand governor, the numbers are in clear favour of the NDA nominee. These parties include the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), Shiromani Akali Dal, Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), AIADMK, TDP, YSRCP and Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).

On the other hand, Sinha is being backed by the Congress, Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Trinamool Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Akhilesh Yadav led-Samajwadi Party, National Conference, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Rashtriya Janata Dal and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF). The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is the latest to join the opposition list.

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