Prez election today, J&K MPs to vote in Delhi

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU/NEW DELHI, July 17: All five Members of Parliament from Jammu and Kashmir will have to cast their vote in New Delhi as no Polling Station has been set up in the Union Territory for tomorrow’s election for the President of India.
During 2017 Presidential election, a Polling Station was set up in Srinagar. However, this time, no Polling Station has been set up in Jammu and Kashmir mainly because there is no Legislative Assembly.
There are only five electorates for the Presidential elections in Jammu and Kashmir and all of them are Lok Sabha members as there is no Assembly in J&K for last nearly four years now. Further, all four Rajya Sabha MPs from J&K have also retired and the posts remained vacant in absence of Legislative Assembly in the UT.
Five MPs from J&K accounted for 3500 votes as an MP has vote value of 700.
While three National Conference MPs including Dr Farooq Abdullah, Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi have announced that they will vote for joint Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, BJP MPs including Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore Sharma will be voting for the party nominee Droupadi Murmu.
PTI adds:-
Nearly 4,800 elected MPs and MLAs will vote tomorrow to elect the 15th President of India, with NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu having a clear edge over Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha as over 60 per cent votes are expected to be cast in her favour.
The polling will take place in Parliament House and State Legislative Assemblies between 10 am and 5 pm for which ballot boxes have already reached their destinations.
The counting of votes will take place at Parliament House on July 21 and the next President will take oath on July 25.