NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu is leading against Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha in the counting of votes of MPs.

“The ballot paper of the members of parliament were counted. Total valid votes 748. The total value of the valid votes is 5,23,600.

“Out of this, Droupadi Murmu has secured 540 votes with a value of 3,78,000. And Yashwant Sinha secured 208 votes, the value of votes is 1,45,600. 15 votes are invalid,” said Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Moody, who is the returning officer of the Presidential poll.

These are figures for Parliament votes. Please wait for the next announcement, he added.

With the results of the first round of counting, NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu appears all set to become the 15th President of India. The votes cast by MPs were counted first. The final results will be declared by evening.

The counting of votes is underway in Room Number 63 in Parliament House complex.

The area around the counting centre has been declared a sanitized zone with only the officers involved in the counting process, presidential candidates and their authorised representatives, and Election Commission observers have been allowed access. Media persons with valid EC-issued passes are also allowed in the complex.

The authorities made all the arrangements for discipline, and proper decorum so as to ensure the conduct of peaceful counting.

The Presidential election took place on July 18 with elected members of Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies comprising the electoral college voting to elect the next President.

Out of a total 4,025 eligible MLAs for voting in the Presidential election, a total of 3,991 MLAs voted. A total of 771 MPs voted in the polls out of total 763 eligible MPs.

The ruling BJP expects Murmu to get two-third votes in the polls for the highest office of the country.

The new President is scheduled to take oath on July 25.

If elected, Murmu will be the first ever tribal woman to occupy the highest post. Besides, she would be the first President of India born post-independence and the youngest ever at the age of 64 years.

She was born on June 20, 1958.