Cross-voting adds to Kovind tally

NEW DELHI: More than 100 legislators across the country cross voted in favour of the BJP-led NDA nominee, Ram Nath Kovind, in the July 17 presidential election.

Cross-voting by MLAs was reported in West Bengal, where the Trinamool Congress is in power, and in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Goa.

At the end of the vote count on Thursday, Kovind secured 2,930 votes with the total value of 702,044 as against 1,844 by opposition candidate Meira Kumar in the absence of a whip by any political party. Kovind’s overall vote value was 661 more than the assured value of 701,382, comprising lawmakers from the NDA and some opposition parties. In contrast, Kumar’s total vote value stood at 367,314.

“The Congress candidate had asked MPs and MLAs to vote on the basis of antaraatma ki awaz (inner conscience). There are 116 people who had not openly pledged their support to Kovind but voted for him. We thank each and everyone for their support and those who listened to their antaraatma ki awaz,” said Bhupendra Yadav, a BJP general secretary and Kovind’s campaign manager.

The total combined value of votes in the election is 1098,903 — 549,408 for 543 Lok Sabha and 233 Rajya Sabha parliamentarians, and 549,495 for 4,120 legislators in state assemblies.

Large-scale cross-voting exposed the vulnerability of the opposition camp, especially Congress legislators favouring Kovind in poll-bound Gujarat. As many as 11 Congress MLAs voted for the NDA candidate.

It exposed chinks in the opposition party facing rebellion by senior leader Shankarsinh Vaghela.