NEW DELHI: Several Union Cabinet Ministers cast their votes as the polling to elect the President of India got under way in the Parliament House and the premises of the State Legislative Assemblies. The term of office of President Ram Nath Kovind is ending on July 24.
Former Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu is the NDA candidate, while former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha is contesting as a joint Opposition candidate for the top post.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers Amit Shah, Anurag Thakur, Piyush Goyal were among the first to cast their votes in the Parliament House. The counting of the votes will be taken up on Thursday.
Union Ministers Mansukh Mandaviya, Hardeep Singh Puri, Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav and NCP chief Sharad Pawar cast their votes for the Presidential polls in Delhi.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan cast their votes for the Presidential polls in Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote in Parliament as voting for the Presidential election began on Monday in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha.
Ahead of the commencement of the monsoon session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged all members of Parliament to make the session fruitful and productive by hold discussions and debate with an open mind.
“There should be dialogue in the Parliament with an open mind, if necessary, there should be a debate. I urge all MPs to contemplate deeply and discuss matters to make this session as fruitful and productive as possible,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parliament.
The Prime Minister also briefed about the upcoming Presidential and Vice-Presidential polls. He said, “This session is also 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.”
The Presidential Election was held today while the Vice Presidential election will be held on August 6. The Monsoon Session of Parliament commenced today and will continue till August 12. Price rise, Agnipath scheme and unemployment are some of the issues which are likely to be raised by the Opposition during the Monsoon session. (ANI)