Presidential elections today: Droupadi Murmu vs Yashwant Sinha; all you need to know 

Elections to choose the 15th President of India will be held on July 18 and results will be announced on July 21, days before Ram Nath Kovind’s term ends. Total 4,809 electors can vote in the Presidential Elections and no party can issue a whip to its members. As per the current trends, BJP’s candidate Droupadi Murmu has a clear edge over Opposition candidate and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha. 

Top points to know 

1. The elections for the 15th President of India will be held on the first day of the Parliament’s monsoon session, i.e., July 18 and the newly elected President will take oath on July 25.   

2. Value of the vote of an MP will be 700, according to Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar.   

3. The president is elected by the members of the Electoral College comprising elected members of both the houses of the Parliament and elected members of the legislative assemblies of all states including the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry. 

4. Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha or legislative assemblies of the states are not eligible to be included in the Electoral College, thus, are not entitled to participate in the election. Members of the legislative councils can also not vote for the presidential election.   

5. Murmu has the backing of Biju Janata Dal (BJD), YSR Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Janata Dal (Secular), Shiromani Akali Dal, both factions of the Shiv Sena and Jharkhan Mukti Morcha (JMM).   

6. While announcing their decision to back Murmu, Uddhav Thackeray said, “We decided to extend our support to Droupadi Murmu for her presidency, considering that a tribal woman is getting an opportunity to become the President. Yes, I know politics will start after this but there is no politics in it. We had supported Pratibha Patil for the presidency in the past as well.” 

7. Sinha, on the other hand, resigned from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) before his nomination as the Opposition’s candidate for presidential poll. He is backed by Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).   

8. AAP MP Sanjay Singh told news agency ANI that while the party respects Droupadi Murmu they have decided to support Yashwant Sinha in the presidential polls. 

9. If Murmu gets elected, she will become the first tribal President of India and the country’s second female President after Pratibha Patil. She is also the first presidential candidate of a major political party or alliance from Odisha.  

10. If Droupadi Murmu gets elected, political parties cannot ignore tribal people when a member of the community is elected as President, according to political observers. They also feel the BJP will get the dividend in Assembly Elections in states having large tribal population especially Santhals.  

11. Associate Professor at the Centre for Political Studies of JNU Manindra Nath Thakur believes that the opposition’s decision to choose Sinha seems to convey the message that all those against the present government should come together. Thakur also went onto describe Sinha as an “exhausted politician” who always lacked any mass appeal.