Lawmakers vote for India’s new president

New Delhi: Lawmakers voted on Monday to choose India’s next president in an election expected to be won by a woman from India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party who hails from a minority ethnic community.

The election of Draupadi Murmu is a formality as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP controls enough seats in federal and state legislatures to push its favoured candidate. She is also likely to get the support of other regional parties in state assemblies.

The president in India is chosen by an electoral college that consists of lawmakers in both houses of Parliament and elected members of the legislative assemblies of all states. The president’s role is largely ceremonial, but the position can be important during times of political uncertainty such as a hung parliament, when the office assumes greater power.

The votes from Monday’s election will be counted Thursday.

Modi’s party has projected Murmu as a leader representing poor tribal communities, which generally lack health care and education facilities in remote villages. Murmu, 64, hails from the eastern of state Odisha and previously was governor of Jharkhand state.

If elected, she will become the first president from one of the country’s tribes and the second-ever female president of India. She is a member of the Santhal ethnic minority.

Murmu’s main opponent is a former BJP member, a candidate put up by a divided opposition. Yashwant Sinha, 84, was finance minister during the previous BJP government from 1998 to 2002. He quit the party following a divergence with Modi on economic issues in 2018.

The winner will replace Ram Nath Kovind, a leader from the Dalit community.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers Amit Shah, Anurag Thakur, Piyush Goyal were among the first to cast their votes in the Parliament House.

Ahead of the commencement of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged all members of Parliament to make the session fruitful and productive by holding discussions and debate with an open mind.

“There should be dialogue in the Parliament with an open mind, if necessary, there should be a debate. I urge all MPs to contemplate deeply and discuss matters to make this session as fruitful and productive as possible,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parliament.

The Prime Minister also briefed about the upcoming Presidential and Vice-Presidential polls.

He said, “This Session is also important because elections for the office of President and Vice President are taking place right now. Voting (for the Presidential election) is taking place today. During this period, the new President and Vice President will begin guiding the nation.”

The Vice Presidential election will be held on August 6. The Monsoon Session of Parliament commenced on Monday and will continue till August 12.