Presidential poll begins in Mumbai, Fadnavis casts vote

Mumbai : The voting for the presidential election started at the Vidhan Bhawan in south Mumbai this morning with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is an MLA from Nagpur, among the early voters.

The voting began here at 10 am. Former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar also reached the polling centre early to cast his vote. Jailed NCP MLAs Chhagan Bhujbal and Ramesh Kadam are also expected to cast their votes in the presidential election, a Vidhan Bhawan official said. A special PMLA court recently allowed Bhujbal’s application seeking permission to vote in the election.

The Bombay High Court had on Friday granted permission to NCP MLA Ramesh Kadam, who is in jail after his arrest in an alleged corruption case, to vote in the election. Kadam was arrested in August 2015 in a case relating to the alleged siphoning off of over Rs 141 crore from the state-run Annabhau Sathe Development Corporation. NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind was in Mumbai on Saturday to seek support of MLAs and MPs.

The opposition’s candidate, Meira Kumar, visited Mumbai last month to launch her campaign for the top constitutional post. The tenure of incumbent Pranab Mukherjee, the 13th president of India, ends on July 24. There are 288 MLAs in Maharashtra who are eligible to vote in the election. Besides, there are 48 Lok Sabha MPs and 19 Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra.

The MPs from the state are expected to vote in Delhi, the official said.