The Kashmir Pulse

NEW DELHI — Droupadi Murmu became India's first tribal President on Thursday as NDA-choice Murmu scooped up over 60 per cent of the total vote value. Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha conceded defeat after three rounds of counting. The President-elect will take oath on July 25.

The counting process started at 11:00 AM at the Parliament House and after preliminaries, the actual counting started at 1:30 PM. The trends became clear after the first round where Ms Murmu stood at 39 per cent.

Droupadi Murmu got 64.03 per cent of the total vote value after three rounds of counting. Yashwant Sinha ended up with 35.97 per cent. Ms Murmu received 1,349 votes with a value of 4,83,299. Mr Sinha received 537 votes with a value of 1,89,876. A value of 5,43,000 is required for a victory.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with senior members of his Cabinet and BJP chief JP Nadda, visited Ms Murmu to congratulate her. Celebrations broke out across the country, complete with sweets and colourful tribal dances.

"I heartily congratulate Srimati Droupadi Murmu on her victory in the Presidential Election 2022. I hope — indeed, every Indian hopes — that as the 15th President of India, she functions as the Custodian of the Constitution without fear or favour. I join my fellow countrymen in extending best wishes to her," read a statement from Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha.

The Delhi BJP started its celebrations with a roadshow from the party headquarters to Rajpath.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has already congratulated Ms Murmu. "The first woman tribal to become President is a momentous occasion and thanks to PM Modi for giving such a unique gift. There is absolute euphoria in Assam, particularly in the tea gardens, people are very happy," he added.

Odisha's Rairangpur, the hometown of Ms Murmu, broke out in celebrations as the trend became clear.

The NDA's choice of Ms Murmu -- former Jharkhand Governor and a tribal woman from Odisha – drove a wedge through the opposition and brought on board non-aligned parties, such as Naveen Patnaik's Biju Janata Dal and Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress. The move is also seen as a huge political message to the tribal community, which was lately seen as being disenchanted with the BJP.

SRINAGAR — Presidential opposition candidate, Yashwant Sinha on Saturday said that if he was elected, his priority will be to persuade the government to resolve the Kashmir issue permanently.

Addressing a press conference, Sinha, as per the news agency Kashmir News Observer, demanded the restoration of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and also said that free and fair Assembly elections must be conducted at the earliest.

“I am opposed to the forcible and manipulative changes in J&K. The Central government has failed to fulfil its promise to create an atmosphere for the safe return of Kashmiri Pandits. The promise must be fulfilled. J&K people have suffered a lot and their desire for peace must be fulfilled,” Sinha, who is campaigning for the presidential elections, said.

He said that if he is elected as president, one of his priorities will be to urge the government to take necessary steps to resolve the Kashmir issue permanently and restore peace, justice, normalcy, democracy and end the hostility towards J&K.

Sinha, who was accompanied by National Conference (NC) President Dr Farooq Abdullah, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti, Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir, and other political leaders said that for the second time, the people in J&K would not be able to participate in the presidential polls.

“My campaign would have been incomplete in case I could not have visited Kashmir. I get disappointed when I see the situation here, which is contrary to the government claims,” he added.

He also said that there is no state in the country where elections have not been conducted for the period of four years and where the people have been deprived of representation. “Jammu and Kashmir is facing injustice and only a limited number of people are knowledgeable about the fact that the limited democracy that existed in J&K has also been murdered.”

He said that his visit to J&K was to express solidarity with the people of J&K. “It is very regrettable that the Supreme Court has not even heard the case related to Article 370 and Article 35-A nearly three years after the Constitution was repealed,” he said, adding that long pendency of the case in the court erodes the credibility of the apex court.

SRINAGAR — The presidential candidate of the opposition, Yashwant Sinha is likely to visit Jammu and Kashmir on July 9 to garner support for his candidature, sources said here on Wednesday.

Sources, according to news agency Kashmir News Observer, said that Sinha is likely to meet leaders of different political parties including the National Conference to seek support for his candidature. They said that Sinha is likely to visit J&K on July 9.

In the electoral college comprising of elected MPs and MLAs, only five MPs - three National Conference MPs and two BJP MPs - from J&K are eligible to cast their votes.

It may be noted that the total vote value of NC MPs is 2100.