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Pranab Mukherjee is India's next president
Sunday July 22, 2012 05:24:00 PM, IANS
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New Delhi:
Pranab Mukherjee will be India's 13th president. The former
finance minister Sunday comfortably crossed the halfway mark with
558,000 votes to secure his journey to Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Soon after he was declared president-elect, the 76-year-old
Mukherjee said "he was very happy".
His rival, former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma, was way behind
with 239,966 votes as counting continued, Mukherjee's polling
agent Pravin H. Parikh told IANS.
"He has crossed the halfway mark. He is the president-elect,"
Parikh said.
Though the result was clear, votes would continue to be counted
till all the ballot boxes were opened.
Speaking to a Bengali news channel Mukherjee "thanked everybody
for their love and support. I thank all the people of my country".
"In the last one month I have covered the entire country. And with
the emotions and feelings that I have sensed in the common people
revolving round this presidential election, it felt like it was
not a presidential election but a general election.
"I am very happy, and I will strive to live up to the expectations
and faith that people have bestowed on me," Mukherjee said in his
first comments.
Celebrations also broke out outside his Talkotra Road residence in
the national capital.
Home Minister P.Chidambaram and Defence Minister A.K. Antony met
the seasoned politician at his residence to convey their
congratulations after Mukherjee emerged the clear winner.
"He will make a very, very good president," Antony said, while a
beaming Chidambaram said it was an "emphatic" victory.
Mukherjee, who was most recently finance minister, is one of
India's most experienced politicians. He was widely considered the
Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's most
trusted and able strategists.
His candidature was backed not just by members of the UPA but also
the Janata Dal-United and the Shiv Sena, which broke ranks with
the opposition NDA. Besides, the CPI-M, the Rashtriya Janata Dal
and the Samajwadi Party were among those who supported him.
"I congratulate Pranab Mukherjee for this historic win. He will
garner more than 70 percent of the votes. I also thank people who
supported him," Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V.
Narayanasamy said.
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