New Delhi [India], July 18 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to cast his vote in Parliament as voting for the presidential election began on Monday in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha.

MLAs will receive a pink ballot paper to vote on, while MPs will receive a green ballot paper, according to the Election Commission. Separate colors make it easier for the returning officer to calculate how much each MLA and MP’s vote is worth. The EC has also provided violet-ink-specific pens for voters to use to annotate their ballots in the presidential election in order to ensure voting confidentially.

Polling began at 10 am at the Parliament House and the state legislative assemblies with MPs and MLAs casting their votes to elect the 15th President of India. The voting process will conclude at 5 pm. The counting of votes is scheduled to take place on July 21.

Members of state legislative assemblies and elected members of the House of Representatives make up the electoral college, which chooses the president using a proportional representation system. Nominated MPs and MLAs as well as members of legislative councils are ineligible to cast ballots in this election.

The votes are weighted, with the value calculated by the population of each state as per the 1971 Census. The value of each MLA’s vote ranges from 208 in Uttar Pradesh to 7 in Sikkim. This indicates that the 403 MLAs from Uttar Pradesh provide 208 403 = 83,824 votes to the electoral pool, whereas the 32 MLAs from Sikkim contribute 32 7 = 224 votes. The weighted votes from all Assemblies total 5.43 lakh

The mechanism requires that the 776 MPs (543 in Lok Sabha and 233 in Rajya Sabha) cast the same number of votes as the MLAs. As a result, the value of each MP’s vote is 5.43 lakh divided by 776, rounded to 700. The total electoral base of the Assemblies and Parliament is 10.86 lakh.

If all MLAs and MPs in the NDA coalition vote for Draupadi Murmu, the NDA’s current Presidential candidate, she might receive up to 6.67 lakh votes as she has garnered support from several regional parties in the elections. Odisha CM and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik have declared support for Ms. Murmu, as has Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, though both parties are not in an alliance with the NDA.

Murmu has a strong lead against Opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha, with more than 60% of the vote predicted to go to her. If elected, she will be the first tribal woman to hold the country’s highest constitutional position.

Ahead of the commencement of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged all members of Parliament to make the session fruitful and productive by holding discussions and debates with an open mind.

"There should be dialogue in the Parliament with an open mind, if necessary, there should be a debate. I urge all MPs to contemplate deeply and discuss matters to make this session as fruitful and productive as possible," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parliament.

The Prime Minister also briefed about the upcoming Presidential and Vice-Presidential polls.

He said, "This Session is also important because elections for the office of President and Vice President are taking place right now. Voting (for the Presidential election) is taking place today. During this period, the new President and Vice President will begin guiding the nation."

The Presidential Election is being held today while the Vice Presidential election will be held on August 6.

Highlighting the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Prime Minister said, "This period is very important. It is the period of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. There is a special significance of August 15 and coming 25 years - when the nation would celebrate 100 years of independence, would be the time to make a resolution to decide our journey and the new heights we scale."

The Monsoon Session of Parliament commenced today and will continue till August 12.

Price rise, the Agneepath scheme, and unemployment are some of the issues which are likely to be raised by the Opposition during the Monsoon session.

Various Bills including the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, and Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill are likely to be taken up in the session. (ANI)