Stage set for counting of votes for presidential poll

New Delhi: The process of counting votes to declare the name of the 15th president of the country began on Thursday morning, with polling officials sorting the ballot papers from different states, officials said.

National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) Droupadi Murmu and Opposition’s Yashwant Sinha are in the fray.

The green-coloured ballot papers of the MPs from different states will be sorted before the formal counting begins.

According to the alphabetical order, the ballot boxes from various states, including those from Kerala and Meghalaya, have been sorted.

The MLAs have marked their votes on pink-coloured ballot papers.

Voting for the presidential poll took place in Parliament House and various legislative assemblies on July 18.

The counting of votes will take place in Parliament House under the supervision of Rajya Sabha Secretary General P C Mody, who is the chief returning officer for the poll, the assistant returning officers, and the observers deployed by the Election Commission.