NEW DELHI, June 9:
Election for the next President of India will be held on July 18 in which 4,809 electors comprising MPs and MLAs will vote to elect incumbent Ram Nath Kovind’s successor, the Election Commission announced today.
Going by its strength in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, as well as in many State Assemblies, the BJP is in a comfortable position to ensure the victory of the candidate nominated by it in the upcoming election.
The nominations can be filed till June 29 after the issue of notification on June 15, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told a press conference.
Counting for the poll will take place in the national capital on July 21, after all ballots from states are brought here.
Kovind’s term ends on July 24 and an election for the next president has to be held before that day.
With the EC setting the ball rolling, all eyes are now on who will be the BJP’s choice for the top constitutional post as the party with the support of its allies has a clear advantage. Though the BJP and its allies in the NDA have fewer MLAs than they had during the 2017 presidential polls, their numbers of MPs have gone up since.
A BJP leader said the ruling NDA already has close to 50 per cent of votes in the electoral college. The alliance is hopeful of getting support from independent regional parties like the ruling YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh and the incumbent BJD in Odisha. The BJP is also counting on support from AIADMK, its ally in the last Tamil Nadu assembly polls.
Despite not having numbers on its side, the Opposition is likely to put up a joint candidate for the election and consultations in this regard have already begun.
Sources said that Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has reached out to leaders of some opposition parties and sought their views for a joint opposition candidate who can be fielded.
Some opposition parties are of the view that they should not give a walkover to the ruling dispensation but put up a fight, the sources said.
CPI Rajya Sabha member Binoy Viswam said the Congress had reached out to him to discuss a “common candidate”.
“Consultations for the presidential election have begun among various opposition parties,” a senior opposition leader told PTI, adding that once a consensus is arrived at, a joint candidate may be put up.
Though the final list of electors will be notified after the bye-elections to three Lok Sabha seats and the Rajya Sabha polls to 16 seats, the NDA has 440 MPs in its favour while the opposition UPA has around 180 MPs, besides 36 MPs of Trinamool Congress who normally support the opposition candidate.
The Congress and the BJP are likely to win six more Rajya Sabha seats in the June 10 election and the UPA partners may bag three seats more.
According to rough calculations, the NDA has around 5,35,000 votes out of a total of 10,86,431 votes of all electors.
This includes 3,08,000 votes with the support of its MPs along with that of its allies.(PTI)
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