Prez Polls: With Sena on board, Ram Nath Kovind likely to get much more support than Pranab Mukherjee

The electoral college numbers seem to be stacked in favour of NDA's presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind and he may well end up getting more votes than incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee and his predecessor Pratibha Patil.

With Shiv Sena tonight joining other NDA allies in backing Kovind and Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal(BJD), the YSR Congress and Telangana's ruling TRS too extending support, the 71-year-old dalit leader is expected to have a smooth sailing in the event of an election.

The BJP may also seek the support of rival factions of AIADMK or DMK- parties dominating Tamil Nadu.

The opposition parties are meeting on June 22 to decide on fielding a consensus candidate for the presidential election. CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy told PTI in Hyderabad that the opposition parties would "certainly" field a nominee.

How the numbers stack up

The numbers seem to be in favour of Ram Nath Kovind, the NDA nominee for the post of the President of India.

With the BJD, a faction of the AIADMK, the YSR Congress and the TRS extending support, the prospects of sending Kovind to the Rashtrapati Bhavan have brightened.

The total strength of the electoral college which votes to elect the President comprises all elected MPs and members of legislative assemblies of all states and UTs of Delhi and Puducherry.

The total comes to 10,98,903 votes with each MP carrying a vote value of 708. The vote weight of an MLA depends on the population of the state he or she represents.

A candidate needs 50 per cent plus votes to win the poll. Halfway mark comes at 5,49,452.

The NDA, led by the BJP, has 5,37,683 votes and this is including the Shiv Sena. If at all, the Sena decides to vote against the NDA nominee, then the NDA's voteshare minus the Shiv Sena would be around 5,11,790 votes.

With the BJD, a faction of the AIADMK, the TRS and the YSRC firmly behind the BJP, its vote share would come to nearly 8,83,578 -- much more than the 50 per cent plus mark.

The voting for the president's position is through a secret ballot, and party whip does not apply.

In the last elections, present incumbent Pranab Mukherjee had won by a margin of 397776 votes defeating P A Sangma. He garnered 713763 votes against 315987 of Sangma, whose passed away last year.