Droupadi Murmu’s hometown ready for celebration as India gets its 15th President today

As India will get its 15th President on Thursday, Odisha’s Rairangpur, the native place of NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu, began preparations anticipating Murmu’s victory in the contest against Yashwant Sinha.

Sweets have been made for distribution after the results are out. The people of her village have planned a victory procession and tribal dance.

Here are the top updates:

1. The counting will begin in Parliament at 11am and the results will be declared immediately after the counting. The voting took place on July 18.

2. Of the 736 electors comprising 727 MPs and nine MLAs who were permitted by the Election Commission to vote at Parliament House, 728 electors cast their votes. This includes 719 MPs and nine MLAs. The total turnout at Parliament House was 98.91 per cent.

3. The counting will take place in Room No 63 in Parliament House and the result will be declared immediately after the counting. The immediate precincts of Room Number 63 have been declared as sanitised and “silent zone”.

4. Local BJP is planning celebrations after the results are announced. “We are preparing 20,000 laddus and have put up 100 banners congratulating Murmu, who has her house in our town,” local BJP leader Tapan Mahanta said.

5. The headteacher of the school where Murmu studied recalled that she was a brilliant student and wanted to “serve the people”. “From 1968 to 1970, I was the Head Teacher, when she was studying in the school. I feel very proud to know about Droupadi Murmu. She was a brilliant student. I remember once, the students were asked to share what they want to become in future, students mentioned different professions, but when Murmu was asked, she stated that she wants to serve the people. Today I can connect to that,” Bisweswar Mohanty told ANI.

6. Droupadi Murmu’s aunt Saraswati Murmu said Droupadi Murmu has proved what women can achieve. “Murmu has struggled a lot throughout her life. It is the fruits of relentless struggle. She is of a very humble and grounded nature. We are always together in happiness and sadness…During our time, we the girls were always told what will you do by studying. People used to ask her what will she be able to do. Now she proved to them what she can do,” she said.

7. Murmu is a former Governor of Jharkhand and a former Odisha Minister. If elected, she will be the first tribal President of India and the country’s second female President.

8. Yashwant Sinha, a former Union minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government who later joined Trinamool Congress, is backed by Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal.

9. BJP has planned a mega ‘Abhinandan Yatra’ on Thursday after the counting of the votes. BJP chief JP Nadda will be leading the march marking the landmark victory of Droupadi Murmu if she is elected. The roadshow is scheduled to start from the Delhi BJP office on Pant Marg to celebrate an almost certain victory of Murmu in the presidential election, party leaders said.

10. The Congress in Karnataka on Tuesday lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Murmu alleging violations of the provisions of law in the election. The party alleged that the ruling BJP in Karnataka had bribed and exerted undue influence on its MLAs on July 17 and 18.