It is advantage Pranab Mukherjee, the UPA’s candidate, as Indian lawmakers Thursday voted to elect the country’s 13th president, recording a massive turnout that could be anywhere close to 95 percent.

Mukherjee was in a direct contest with opposition-backed P.A. Sangma in the elections for which polling that began at 10 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m. in Parliament House here and in assembly complexes in the states and union territories with legislatures.

The counting will take place on Sunday when the winner of the contest will be known, though it is almost clear that Mukherjee will romp home with a massive 735,000 of the 10,97,000 votes from among 4,896 electors -- 776 MPs and 4,120 assembly members.

At the end of the voting, the returning officer and Rajya Sabha secretary general V.K. Agnihotri told reporters that “the polling was conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner in all the designated places for voting.” From among the state assemblies, information was available immediately from only 22, while details from another eight were awaited, he added.

“Of the 4,112 MLAs and 77 MPs, who were allowed to vote in the states, 2,997 MLAs and 40 MPs in 22 states cast their ballots. That makes it 72 percent voting from the states for which information is available,” Agnihotri said.

Mukherjee, who has a clear edge over opposition-favoured Sangma, came to vote shortly after 11 a.m. Congress MPs were seen greeting him. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi accompanied Mukherjee as the leaders cast their ballot one after the other amid camera flashlights.

But some anxious moments were witnessed after SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav reportedly voted for Sangma by mistake and later returned his ballot paper to the returning officer claiming it was torn. He was permitted to cast a fresh ballot by Agnihotri.

Sangma’s camp also lodged a written complaint with Agnihotri, asking him to considering the first ballot offered to Mulayam Singh for counting and not the replacement provided by the polling officers. “I have sent the complaint to the Election Commission for a decision,” Agnihotri added.

100% turnout in Nagaland
KOHIMA, JUL 19 (NPN): All the 60 legislators in the Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) exercised their franchise Thursday in the presidential election with much possibility of UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee getting 100% of votes as the DAN government in Nagaland decided to support the UPA candidate.
The Presidential election which went off smoothly, began at 10 a.m. with opposition member I Imkong casting the first vote while others followed soon. State chief minister Neiphiu Rio cast the last vote at around 11.30 p.m. Asserting NPF was not against any political party, the chief minister, however, said NPF decided to vote for suited candidate keeping in mind what was best for the people and Nation as a whole. The counting of votes will take place on Sunday from 11a.m. onwards.