07-20-2007, 03:49 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>U-turns, abstentions mark bitterest poll </b>
Nidhi Sharma | New DelhiÂ
<b>88.5% MPs, 91% MLAs vote</b>
There were many twists and turns in the final lap of the race for Raisina Hill. As the Electoral College voted on Thursday to elect the 13th President of India, there were several last minute turnarounds, which added to the drama in one of the most bitterly fought presidential elections that the country has witnessed.
Polling started at 10 am in Parliament and the various State Assemblies. Of the effective strength of 770 MPs, 682 or 88.5% of the total MPs in the Electoral College voted in the presidential election. Of these, 59 opted to vote in their State capitals. The voter turnout was slightly better in the case of MLAs as 91% of the 4,120 MLAs cast their votes.
Rajasthan saw 100 per cent polling as all the 200 MLAs voted in the election. There were seven other States and Union Territories which reflected a similar encouraging trend. These included Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Manipur, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Pudducherry. Delhi missed out as one of its 70 MLAs did not vote. The election also saw four jailed MPs - Shibu Soren (JMM), Shahabuddin (RJD), Babubhai Katara (BJP) and Pappu Yadav (RJD) - not missing out on the opportunity of exercising their franchise.
The most interesting aspect of the election was that the MPs and MLAs defied party diktat while exercising their voting rights all across the country.<b> The first ripples of excitement were felt early in the morning in Parliament House when two AIADMK MPs queued up to cast their vote. As many as five of the 12 AIADMK MPs also cast their votes in Parliament House.</b>
The surprises did not end here. Samajwadi Party MPs and MLAs voted openly, despite the Third Front's resolve to abstain. Four party MPs, Beni Prasad, Munnavar Hussain, Atiq Ahmad and suspended member Raj Babbar cast their votes in Parliament House. Five party MLAs voted in Madhya Pradesh.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said, "This is the call of conscience. I support Advani only on one matter - his call of the conscience." Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh also poked fun at BJP's call for a conscience vote and said: "The conscience call came from the wrong person."
Despite being in Government, ruling parties in one State abstained. The Mizo National Front and its coalition partner, the Mizoram Congress Party stayed away and the State saw only 15 of 40 legislators casting their votes. The turnout was poor in Meghalaya also where 36 of 60 MLAs chose to vote.
Senior leaders likened the close contest to the 1969 face-off between VV Giri and Sanjeeva Reddy. After casting his vote, George Fernandes said: "There is a lot of similarity between this election and that of 1969." The heir-apparent of the Gandhi-Nehru family Rahul Gandhi, however, disagreed and said that it was a normal election.
Angry at the lack of clarity on the part of the UPA Government over a separate Telangana State, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) had announced on Wednesday that it would abstain. However, nine TRS MLAs rebelled against the call.
The National Conference had sprung a surprise when it declared that it would not abstain. Senior leader Farooq Abdullah came to Parliament at around 2 pm to cast his vote. However, Abdullah refused to clarify whether his party was supporting the Congress or not. When asked if the National Conference was really with the Congress, he said: "I don't know. I can't say."
<b>In Gujarat, a rebel BJP MLA, who did not want to be identified, said about 15 MLAs voted for Pratibha to register their protest against Chief Minister Narendra Modi's style of functioning.</b>
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Nidhi Sharma | New DelhiÂ
<b>88.5% MPs, 91% MLAs vote</b>
There were many twists and turns in the final lap of the race for Raisina Hill. As the Electoral College voted on Thursday to elect the 13th President of India, there were several last minute turnarounds, which added to the drama in one of the most bitterly fought presidential elections that the country has witnessed.
Polling started at 10 am in Parliament and the various State Assemblies. Of the effective strength of 770 MPs, 682 or 88.5% of the total MPs in the Electoral College voted in the presidential election. Of these, 59 opted to vote in their State capitals. The voter turnout was slightly better in the case of MLAs as 91% of the 4,120 MLAs cast their votes.
Rajasthan saw 100 per cent polling as all the 200 MLAs voted in the election. There were seven other States and Union Territories which reflected a similar encouraging trend. These included Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Goa, Manipur, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Pudducherry. Delhi missed out as one of its 70 MLAs did not vote. The election also saw four jailed MPs - Shibu Soren (JMM), Shahabuddin (RJD), Babubhai Katara (BJP) and Pappu Yadav (RJD) - not missing out on the opportunity of exercising their franchise.
The most interesting aspect of the election was that the MPs and MLAs defied party diktat while exercising their voting rights all across the country.<b> The first ripples of excitement were felt early in the morning in Parliament House when two AIADMK MPs queued up to cast their vote. As many as five of the 12 AIADMK MPs also cast their votes in Parliament House.</b>
The surprises did not end here. Samajwadi Party MPs and MLAs voted openly, despite the Third Front's resolve to abstain. Four party MPs, Beni Prasad, Munnavar Hussain, Atiq Ahmad and suspended member Raj Babbar cast their votes in Parliament House. Five party MLAs voted in Madhya Pradesh.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said, "This is the call of conscience. I support Advani only on one matter - his call of the conscience." Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh also poked fun at BJP's call for a conscience vote and said: "The conscience call came from the wrong person."
Despite being in Government, ruling parties in one State abstained. The Mizo National Front and its coalition partner, the Mizoram Congress Party stayed away and the State saw only 15 of 40 legislators casting their votes. The turnout was poor in Meghalaya also where 36 of 60 MLAs chose to vote.
Senior leaders likened the close contest to the 1969 face-off between VV Giri and Sanjeeva Reddy. After casting his vote, George Fernandes said: "There is a lot of similarity between this election and that of 1969." The heir-apparent of the Gandhi-Nehru family Rahul Gandhi, however, disagreed and said that it was a normal election.
Angry at the lack of clarity on the part of the UPA Government over a separate Telangana State, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) had announced on Wednesday that it would abstain. However, nine TRS MLAs rebelled against the call.
The National Conference had sprung a surprise when it declared that it would not abstain. Senior leader Farooq Abdullah came to Parliament at around 2 pm to cast his vote. However, Abdullah refused to clarify whether his party was supporting the Congress or not. When asked if the National Conference was really with the Congress, he said: "I don't know. I can't say."
<b>In Gujarat, a rebel BJP MLA, who did not want to be identified, said about 15 MLAs voted for Pratibha to register their protest against Chief Minister Narendra Modi's style of functioning.</b>
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