India's new President to be declared today

New Delhi: Counting of votes for the recently-held 15th Presidential election will begin at 11 am on Thursday with the results of the contest between BJP-led NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu and joint Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha to be declared today.

The results will declare on who will succeed incumbent Ram Nath Kovind to become the country's 15th President.

The counting will take place in Room No 63 in Parliament House and the result will be declared immediately after the counting. The immediate precincts of Room Number 63 have been declared as sanitised and "silent zone".

Only counting officers, officials deployed to assist the Rajya Sabha Secretary General, candidates and one authorised representative of each candidate, observers appointed by the Election Commission and media persons with valid passes will be allowed entry into the counting hall. Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Mody is the returning officer for the Presidential election.

Out of 736 electors comprising 727 MPs and nine MLAs permitted by the Election Commission to vote at the Parliament house, 728 (719 MPs and nine MLAs) cast their votes. The total turnout at Parliament House was 98.91 per cent.

The voting took place on July 18 and was completed in a peaceful manner.

Droupadi Murmu is seen to have a clear edge in the contest with several political parties extending support to the NDA candidate.

The voting ended at 5 pm at the Parliament House and at designated places in the capitals of all states besides the UTs of Puducherry and Delhi on Monday.

Arrangements were made to bring back the polled ballot boxes from states to Parliament House by July 19.

Meanwhile, people belonging to the native place of NDA candidate Murmu, Rairangpur in Odisha, have made sweets anticipating her victory in the contest against Yashwant Sinha, the Opposition candidate.

The people of her native place have also planned a victory procession and tribal dance on Thursday.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also planned to begin celebrating in more than one lakh tribal villages as soon as the results are announced, sources said on July 14.

The BJP workers have been instructed to begin the celebration after the announcement of the victory of Murmu all over the country, especially among the tribal community in more than one lakh villages across the country.

According to sources, the BJP high command has instructed the office bearers and workers that the BJP will celebrate the victory of Droupadi Murmu in every part of the country. BJP is preparing to celebrate in about 15,000 Mandals.

As soon as Murmu's victory is announced, instructions have been given to put up hoardings and posters of Droupadi Murmu in these tribal villages.(