Ram Nath Kovind leads, 'Not upset', says Meira Kumar : Presidential Election 2017 Results LIVE

Incumbent Pranab Mukherjee's term as President ends on July 25

The counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 11 am on Thursday, July 20, but it is believed that Kovind has an edge over Kumar. However, should he win, the margin of his victory will be interesting to note, given that there were reports of many instances where voters from Opposition parties also voting for Kovind in the election.

“The voting was close to 99 per cent. I think this would perhaps be the highest-ever percentage,” Anoop Mishra, Lok Sabha, secretary general and returning officer for the election, had said on Monday.

Mishra had said while the sanctioned strength of the Lok Sabha (LS) and the Rajya Sabha (RS) is 776 (543 and 233), 771 MPs were eligible to cast their votes. There are two vacancies each in the LS and the RS, while one BJP MP, Chhedi Paswan, did not have voting rights following a judicial pronouncement.

Of the total 771 MPs who are entitled to vote, 768, or 99.61 per cent, cast their votes. Likewise, of the 4,109 MLAs entitled to vote, 4,083 or 99.37 per cent cast their votes, officials said.

 

CATCH ALL THE LIVE UPDATES: Presidential Election 2017 Results

03:08 PM
The states where the counting has finished include Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
03:06 PM
Do you know why the ballot boxes are known as ‘Mr Ballot Box’?
This is because the boxes, which reached the parliament two days ago, are sent to Delhi via plane through a senior security official. The official, who is trusted to maintain the secrecy travels in Business class compartment along with the box, reorted ABP Live.

Here comes the catch: The ballot box has a seat reserved for itself next to the official carrying it. Therefore, as it is not transported as a cargo, it is known as ‘Mr Ballot Box.’
02:51 PM
Number of invalid votes: 21
02:51 PM
Total votes polled in favour of Ram Nath Kovind is 522 in value of 3,69,576
02:45 PM
In Bihar, it was a close fight with Kovind getting 22,490 and Meira Kumar 18,867.
02:44 PM
According to Lok Sabha Secretary General Anoop Mishra, the Returning Officer for the July 20 election, Kovind secured 60,683 value of votes after ballots from four states - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Bihar - were counted.
02:28 PM
I am not upset, why should I be upset? I am a fighter, I fought for the belief and faith of majority of my countrymen and women, says Meira Kumar who has not flared better than Kovind.
02:26 PM
In Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim, the Opposition's nominee receieved 0 votes, meanwhile, the NDA's canditate got 27,666 and 210 votes in the respective states.
02:23 PM
States where Ram Nath Kovind trumped over Meira Kumar: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim
02:23 PM
States where Meira Kumar bagged more votes than Kovind: West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, New Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Puducherry
02:09 PM
Counting began at 11 am with the ballot box of Parliament House being opened first, followed by ballot boxes received from states in alphabetical order. (READ MORE)