President poll today, Pranab win imminent

New Delhi: It's the D-day for the two presidential candidates - UPA's Pranab Mukherjee and the NDA's PA Sangma. However, after a month of moves and counter moves, it's Pranab Mukherjee who is smiling. With the Trinamool Congress President Mamata Banerjee finally deciding to support the veteran Congressman, the match is as good as over.

Mamata Banerjee had initially proposed the name of former president APJ Abdul Kalam for a second term, in alliance with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The duo almost threatened to derail the UPA's Presidential campaign, even going to the extent of naming Manmohan Singh as their choice for Rashtrapati.

However, hours later, Mulayam Singh had struck a deal with the Congress at a secret meeting with Sonia Gandhi.

For Sangma now, the only hope seems to be some support from disgruntled sections within the UPA. His supporters include a niche group consisting of the AIADMK and the Biju Janata Dal, but with the BJP unable to convince the Shiv Sena and the JDU, Sangma's campaign never really took off.

Presidential election: The process

The President of India is elected by an electoral college comprising MPs and MLAs.

- 776 MPs, all except nominated ones, cast their vote.

- 4120 MLAs cast their vote.

- 708 votes is the value of each MP's vote.

- Meanwhile, the value of an MLA's vote is variable. It depends on the population of the state the MLA represents.

Pranab vs Sangma: How the numbers stack up

Support for Pranab: UPA (+TMC) + RJD + SP + BSP + JDS + CPM + FB + NDA allies (Shiv Sena and JDU) = 66.7 per cent

Support for Sangma: BJP + SAD + JMM + BJD + AIADMK = 30.3 per cent

Undecided parties: TDP + others = 3 per cent

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