Pranab Mukherjee elected as new President
Pranab Mukherjee was on Sunday elected as the 13th President, marking a new journey for the veteran Congress leader after over four decades of life in active politics.
He declared elected as President, polling 69.3% votes with a value of 7,13,763, said Returning Officer.
Mukherjee, UPA nominee, got 5,64,469 vote value, well beyond the half-way mark of 5,25,140 in an electoral college of over 10.5 lakh when counting of votes polled by the MPs and MLAs of 20 of the 30 states was completed.
His rival P A Sangma, who was backed by BJP and some other opposition parties like AIADMK and BJD, could manage only 2,57,466 vote value, according to Rajya Sabha Secretary General V K Agnihotri, who is the Returning Officer for the poll.
As Mukherjee headed for victory, senior ministers, including A K Antony and P Chidambaram, went to his 13, Talkatora Road residence to greet him.
