NEW DELHI: As many as 350 electors, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, cast their vote in the first 1.5 hours of the presidential poll, sources said Monday.
Voting for the presidential election in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint opposition pick Yashwant Sinha began on Monday morning with Prime Minister Modi being the first to cast his vote.
The voting process would conclude at 5 pm.
Voting was also underway in various state assemblies for the presidential poll and the early voters in the states included Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs are entitled to vote in the election, but nominated MPs and MLAs, and members of Legislative Councils are not.
Besides Room number 63 on the first floor of Parliament House, which has been converted into a polling station, voting is simultaneously taking place at various state assemblies.
In the national capital, voting is also underway at the Delhi legislative assembly.
Counting of votes will be held on July 21.
The system of secret ballot is followed in the presidential election, and parties cannot issue whips to their MPs and MLAs with regard to voting.
The value of the vote of a Member of Parliament has gone down to 700 from 708 in this presidential poll due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.
The value of vote of an MLA varies in different states.
In Uttar Pradesh, the value of vote of each MLA stands at 208, followed by 176 in Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu.
In Maharashtra, it is 175.
In Sikkim, the value of vote per MLA is seven, while it is nine in Nagaland and eight in Mizoram.
In accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, every elector can mark as many preferences, as there are candidates contesting the election.
These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1,2,3, 4, 5 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference, in the space provided in column 2 of the ballot paper.
According to Election Commission's directions, while MPs will get a green-coloured ballot paper, the MLAs will get a pink ballot paper to cast their vote.
Separate colours help the returning officer ascertain the value of vote of each MLA and MP.
Seeking to maintain secrecy of voting, the EC has issued a specially designed pen with violet ink to enable voters mark their ballot papers in the presidential poll.
Meanwhile, Opposition presidential candidate Yashwant Sinha on Monday said the presidential poll would decide the direction of the country as to whether democracy will remain or not, as he appealed to electors to listen to their "inner voice" and support him.
Sinha has repeatedly urged lawmakers to vote with the call of conscience in the election, where the win of NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu is a forgone conclusion with several non-NDA parties also supporting the candidature of the tribal leader.
"I have repeatedly said that this election is very important as it will decide the direction as to whether democracy will remain in India or will slowly end.
The indications that we are getting is that we are moving towards its end," Sinha told reporters.
He appealed to Parliamentarians and legislators across the country to listen to their "inner voice" and support him in the election.
"There is no party whip. This is a secret ballot. I appeal to all MPs and MLAs to use their discretion and elect me to save democracy," he said.
Sinha said he is not just fighting a political battle, but a fight against government agencies too.
"Government agencies have become very active, they are causing split in political parties, they are compelling people to vote in a particular way and there is also a game of money involved," he said.
Sinha, who began his electoral campaign from Kerala on June 28, ended the same on July 16 with a visit to his home state of Jharkhand.
During this period, he visited 13 state capitals -- Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Raipur, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Gandhinagar, Srinagar, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Guwahati, Bhopal, Patna and Ranchi -- and addressed several press conferences and 50 interviews.
The presidential election results will be out on July 21.
On the other hand, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrakant Patil on Monday said he was sure that some of the Congress MLAs who remained absent during the Eknath Shinde government's trust vote will vote as per their conscience in favour of the National Democratic Alliance's presidential poll candidate Droupadi Murmu.
Speaking to reporters in the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan premises where voting was underway for the presidential election, Patil said the Congress cannot even guard its own MLAs.
"I am sure that some Congress MLAs who remained absent during the vote of confidence will apply their conscience this time as well," he quipped.
The NDA has fielded Droupadi Murmu for the country's top constitutional post, while the opposition has nominated former Union minister Yashwant Sinha.
BJP MLA and former Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar said, "The opposition parties should not boast about their strength. They have fallen flat on their face earlier also."
During the Shinde government's vote of confidence on July 4, 11 Congress legislators, including former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan were not present in the Assembly.
They could not vote as they reached the Vidhan Bhawan late.
Senior Congress leader and former state chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had taken a dim view of so many party MLAs being absent during the crucial trust vote in the House.
The BJP currently has 106 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly along with 40 MLAs belonging to the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, besides 10 independents who support the BJP.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena with 15 MLAs has announced support for Murmu.
The NCP and Congress have 53 and 44 MLAs, respectively.
there are concerns among the opposition parties over the possibility of cross-voting.
MLAs and MPs form the electoral college to elect the President of India.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress - the two main opposition parties in Maharashtra - have already held meetings with their legislators to ensure there is no any cross-voting in favour of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's candidate Droupadi Murmu.
The opposition is concerned as Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday claimed that Murmu would get the support of 200 MLAs from the state.
"We will manage to get the votes of 200 MLAs for Droupadi Murmu. We want a very comfortable win for her,"” he said.
Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha is the candidate of the Opposition.
Notably, cross-voting was held during the Rajya Sabha elections and the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls last month.
All five candidates of the BJP had won the Legislative Council polls held for 10 seats, while with its own numbers the BJP could have won only four seats.
The Shiv Sena and the NCP won two seats each, while the Congress could only bag one seat.
“There are some concerns in the NCP and Congress over guarding their votes."
"The Congress already faced an embarrassment in the Legislative Council election when one of its candidates lost against the BJP. We do not want it to happen again,” a senior Congress leader said.
The BJP currently has 106 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly along with 40 MLAs belonging to the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, besides 10 independents who support the BJP.
"Without cross-voting, Murmu cannot get the votes of 200 MLAs, as claimed by CM Shinde. If Murmu gets 200 votes, it will be a further setback for the Congress, NCP and the Shiv Sena," a political analyst said.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena with 15 MLAs has announced support for Murmu.
The NCP and Congress have 53 and 44 MLAs, respectively.
Of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, 23 MPs belong to the BJP, 18 to Shiv Sena, four to NCP, and one to Congress.
Of the rest two MPs, one belongs to the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and another is Independent.
Various political parties in the state are also taking extra efforts to ensure none of the votes cast by their MLAs and MPs turn invalid in the presidential election.