Presidential Polls: Cross-Voting Reported as Opposition MLAs Back Droupadi Murmu
Ballots were cast by MPs in the Parliament House in Delhi and by MLAs in their respective state Assemblies.
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Voting for the presidential election, a contest between the National Democratic Alliance's Droupadi Murmu and Opposition's Yashwant Sinha, drew to a close on Monday, 18 July.
Ballots were cast by MPs in the Parliament House in Delhi and by MLAs in their respective state Assemblies across the country.
The poll saw cross-voting by several party leaders, with MLAs from Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) backing NDA's Murmu.
These are the leaders that have claimed to have cross-voted in Monday's election:
SP's Shazil Islam
Even with the Samajwadi Party announcing support for Sinha, SP's MLA from Bhojipura, Shazil Islam has claimed to have cross-voted in the polls.
Islam had earlier made news after he was booked for making provocative statements against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Following the FIR, registered under sections of disturbing peace, Islam's petrol pump was demolished amid an encroachment drive.
He was also seen supporting Azam Khan when he refused to meet the team of SP leaders.
Mohammed Moquim, 19 Other Congress MLAs Cross-Vote
MLA from Cuttack-Barabati, Mohammed Moquim has also voted for the NDA's candidate.
"I am a Congress MLA but I have voted for NDA's Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu. It's my personal decision as I've listened to my heart which guided me to do something for the soil and that's why voted for her," he told news agency ANI.
Other Congress MLAs that voted in favour of Murmu included Haryana Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi.
He added that the Congress called a meeting on Sunday, but only two-three MLAs attended it.
NCP's Kandhal Jadeja, Kamlesh Singh Back Murmu
NCP'S Kandhal S Jadeja as well as MLA Kamlesh Singh also favoured the BJP-backed candidate.
Singh said he went by his “conscience call” while exercising his franchise.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)
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