Prez Poll: Pranab a clear favourite against Sangma

New Delhi, Jul 18:

candidate

is all set to win again BJP-backed

in the election to the office of the President of India slated for Thursday.

As many as 4,896 legislators, 776 MPs and 4,120 MLAs are eligible to vote in Parliamant and the state assemblies. The total value of the votes is 10.98 lakh and the winning candidate has to get 5,49,442 vote value provided all the legislators exercise their franchise.

Mukherjee's supporters are of the opinion that he will get around 7.5 lakh vote value and clearly win the presidential poll. The counting will take place on Sunday, July 22, and the result is expected to come out by early evening.

The Trinamool Congress, one of the key constituents of the UPA, was among the last to express its decision to back Pranab. Besides the UPA, the SP, BSP, RJD, JD(S), two NDA parties, namely, the JD(U) and Shiv Sena and Left parties like the CPI(M) and Forward Bloc have pledged to support the former Union Finance Minister.

The TDP and the TRS along with Left parties like the CPI and RSP, which have about 36,000 votes, are likely to abstain from voting. Some other smaller parties, who have no representatives in the Parliament but have legislators in the state assembles, account for around 32,000 votes.

PA Sangma, who quit the NCP to contest the polls and played the tribal card to earn support, had the initial support of the BJP and AIADMK. The BJP and the Akali Dal from the NDA also decided to back Sangma. He is expected to canvass just around 3.15 lakh votes.

CPI to back Ansari in Vice-presidential poll

Meanwhile, the CPI on Wednesday decided to back UPA vice-presidential poll nominee Hamid Ansari. The party's National Secretary D Raja said this after a central secretariat meeting held in the capital. Earlier, the CPI had decided to abstain from voting Ansari.

The CPI became the third Left party to support the incumbent Vice-President for a second term after the CPI(M) and Forward Bloc. The RSP is the only Left party which has decided to abstain from the August 7 voting. The UPA is comfortably placed in the Electoral College for the Vice-Presidential poll.

OneIndia News