1.From 10 am to 5 pm today, lawmakers of both houses in Parliament and members of legislatures in states, will vote in special booths set up for the Presidential elections. MPs will vote on green paper ballots and state lawmakers on pink. They can't use their own pens to vote and will be given unique serial-numbered special
pens with violet ink.
2. After voting today, ballot boxes from the states will be flown to Delhi and stored in Room 62 in Parliament. Votes will be counted and results will be announced on Thursday, July 20. The new President will take oath on Tuesday, July 25.
3. Ram Nath Kovind, 71, is backed not just by the NDA but also several regional parties like Tamil Nadu's AIADMK. The government says it has the support of 44 parties from across the country and expects to get nearly 70 per cent of the total votes.
4. Meira Kumar said, ""I have asked members of the collegium to pay heed to their voice of inner conscience."
5. A 17-member bloc of opposition parties had announced Meira Kumar's candidacy days after the BJP named its nominee. PM Modi's choice of a Dalit candidate was seen as a masterstroke to divide the opposition and keep allies together as well as a move to consolidate its growing support among politically vital backward castes.
6. By also fielding a Dalit leader, the opposition retained the support of Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, who draws her core support from the community. "After the election, who so ever wins, it is going to be a Dalit President. So it is great for the country," Ms Maywati said today.
7. As he arrived in Parliament today, PM Modi said the Monsoon session that begins today will be "a good one," and thanked all parties for their contribution in launching mega reform the Goods and Services Tax or GST. "Growing Stronger Together is the other name of GST, the PM said, hoping that the spirit of cooperation would continue to mark the session.
8. Leaders of opposition parties met this morning ahead of the presidential elections and the start of the monsoon session of Parliament in which they have decided to launch a united attack on the government on several key issues, including what they call an ill-prepared launch of GST.
9.Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) broke ranks with the opposition to support for Ram Nath Kovind and the BJP's partner Shiv Sena, which has in the last two Presidential elections voted against its own alliance, too has supported Mr Kovind.
10. Mr Kumar's support to Mr Kovind came as a big blow to the opposition, which had picked the Presidential elections as an occasion to forge an anti-BJP bloc ahead of the 2019 general elections. His choice also revealed his growing rift with Lalu Yadav, his partner in Bihar, triggering speculation about a split.
Posted on :
Jul 17, 2017