Gujarat CM Patel, Speaker Acharya vote for presidential election

Gandhinagar: Voting to elect the country's 15th president was underway in the Gujarat Assembly complex here on Monday, with Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Assembly Speaker Nimaben Acharya being among the first to cast their ballot.

Former state chief minister Vijay Rupani, ex-Deputy CM Nitin Patel and Leader of Opposition Sukhram Rathva were also among the early voters.

The voting began in the state Assembly complex in Gandhinagar at 10 am and will continue till 5 pm.

The contest is between National Democratic Alliance's nominee Droupadi Murmu and Congress-led opposition's candidate Yashwant Sinha.

The BJP has 111 legislators in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly.

After casting his vote, BJP MLA and Gujarat Education Minister Jitu Vaghani expressed confidence that Murmu will get more than 111 votes as opposition MLAs will also vote for her.

"The post of president is not a party post. Not just in Gujarat, Murmu will get votes from other parties across the country," he told reporters.

"I urge Congress MLAs to listen to their conscience and cast their vote. I am confident that Murmuji will be elected as the president with record margin," Vaghani said.

Leader of Opposition Sukhram Rathva said Murmu's selection as the presidential candidate was the BJP's "masterstroke" ahead of the Assembly elections in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

But, he also asserted that no MLA from the Congress in Gujarat will indulge in cross-voting.

It is obvious that the BJP wants to woo tribal voters of three states ahead of the Assembly elections due in Gujarat in December this year and later in Rajasthan and MP by projecting Murmu as the country's first tribal woman president, he said.

"It seems the BJP has played a masterstroke. But, it will not have any impact here during voting," Rathva said.

In the 182-member Assembly, 178 MLAs are eligible to vote. Two seats - Unjha and Bhiloda - are vacant following the deaths of sitting MLAs.

Dwarka legislator PAbubha Manek is barred because of a pending court case pertaining to his disqualification and Khedbrahma MLA Ashvin Kotwal recently resigned from the Assembly membership.

Out of the 178 MLAs eligible to cast vote, the BJP has 111, Congress-63, Bharatiya Tribal Party-two, the NCP-one and there is one independent MLA (Jignesh Mevani).