Presidential Elections 2022: PM Modi casts his vote

New Delhi, July 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders on Monday cast their vote in the 16th Presidential election at the Parliament.

The voting began at 10 pm and MPs and ministers queued up in the Parliament to cast their vote to elect the 15th President of India.

Addressing media persons ahead of the beginning of the Monsoon Session, the Prime Minister said, "This Monsoon Session is 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," PM Modi said.

Droupadi Murmu, backed by the ruling National Democratic Alliance, seems to be headed for a comfortable win with numbers in her favour. Yashwant Sinha is the joint Opposition candidate for the presidential poll.

As many as 4,809 electors comprising MPs and MLAs will vote to elect incumbent Ram Nath Kovind's successor, the Election Commission of India had said in June. The counting will take place in the national capital on July 21, after all ballots from states are brought here. Kovind's term ends on July 24.

The value of the vote of a member of Parliament has gone down to 700 from 708 in this presidential poll due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir. The value of vote of an MLA varies in different states. In Uttar Pradesh, the value of vote of each MLA stands at 208, followed by 176 in Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu.