AFP

New Delhi, Jul 19: India was on Thursday poised to get its first ever female president after the main opposition conceded early defeat in the parliamentary vote for the new head of state.

"Pratibha Patil will win, she is now the president-elect," a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said just before balloting in the electoral college of federal and state lawmakers was to end at 5:00 pm.

However, the official, who asked that his name not be used, said Patil had 'fallen in the eyes of the Indian people,' referring to the scandals that have dogged the ruling Congress candidate in the run-up to the vote.

Patil, 72, has been hit by accusations that she protected her brother in a murder probe and shielded her husband in a suicide scandal, as well as allegations of involvement in a slew of financial scams.

Although Patil, who is governor of the state of Rajasthan, has denied all allegations of wrongdoing, presidential candidates and their families are traditionally expected to be free from even the slightest whiff of scandal.

The BJP had backed incumbent vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who was the only other candidate in the race.   

The Congress and its legislative allies were also claiming victory for Patil.

"The nation celebrates the victory of the first woman president of the country," said Saifuddin Soz of Kashmir's National Conference party, which backs India's ruling Congress-led coalition.

The 4,896-strong electoral college comprises 776 federal MPs and 4,120 lawmakers from India's 29 states and one union territory.   

The official results are due on Saturday.

U-turn by AIADMK, MDMK, vote in presidential poll

PTI

Chennai: The AIADMK and MDMK on Wednesday went against the newly formed Third Front's decision to abstain from voting in the presidential polls, and exercised their franchise to choose the successor of APJ Abdul Kalam.

The AIADMK did not officially say whom it was supporting but party sources said its MLAs and MPs were voting for NDA-backed independent candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.

The AIADMK legislators came in batches and stood in the long queue at the state secretariat to cast their votes. The MLAs of AIADMK's ally MDMK were also seen there.

AIADMK chief Jayalalalitha had on July 14 announced the United National Progressive Alliance's (UNPA) decision to abstain from voting in the presidential election.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was the first to cast his vote this morning at the secretariat. Senior DMK leaders K Anbazhagan and N Veerasamy and CLP leader D Sudarsanam were among the early voters.

Film star and DMDK MLA Vijayakant reached the secretariat, taking a short break from a film set, but returned without voting as there was a long queue. He said he will vote later in the day.

Election Commission observer SK Srivastava and Chief Electoral Officer Naresh Gupta were overseeing the voting.

The DMK has 95 MLAs in the 234-member assembly, while the Congress has 35, PMK 18, CPI-M nine, CPI six, AIADMK 60, MDMK six, DPI two and DMDK one. There is also one independent member.

MPs arrive ahead of time for presidential poll

PTI

New Delhi: After a bitter campaign to choose the successor to President APJ Abdul Kalam, parliamentarians on Thursday turned out well ahead of time to exercise their franchise in the election to the top post.

Even before the polling started at 10 am, a long queue had formed outside room number 62 of Parliament House, where the MPs were to cast their votes.

Giridhari Lal Bhargav, the BJP MP from Jaipur, said he was the first to cast his vote.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was among the first MPs who exercised their franchise. He flashed a victory symbol after casting his vote.

Singh was closely followed by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. A host of Union ministers, including Lalu Prasad, P Chidambaram, Pranab Mukherjee, Kapil Sibal and Shivraj Patil, also voted in the initial hours.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar came with his party MPs, including daughter Supriya Sule and Union Minister Praful Patel, to vote.

Dayanidhi Maran, who was axed as a Union minister following a rift with DMK chief M Karunanidhi, came to vote a few minutes after other party MPs and Union ministers cast their ballots.

Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi was among the first MPs from the UPA-Left combine to cast their vote.

There was confusion as to whether AIADMK MPs had voted, with a report from Chennai saying the party was yet to take a decision in the matter.

The AIADMK is part of the UNPA, which said it would abstain from voting in the presidential election. Some AIADMK MPs were seen in the queue, but reports said they had gone to Parliament House to attend a committee meeting.