Presidential Election : Speciality, Eligibility, Value of Vote

Voting for the presidential election began today on Monday in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu contesting against opposition parties alliance pick Yashwant Sinha.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote, in poll which today started at 10am, the voting process concluded at 5 pm.

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 Parliament House, voting took place simultaneously at various state assemblies.

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.

According to source, while MPs got a green-coloured ballot paper, the MLAs got 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.