Prez poll: Counting begins, cheers at Pranabda's home

Before the result of the Presidential election can be announced, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met Pranab Mukherjee at noon to congratulate him in advance.

"I came to congratulate Pranab Ji in advance.  I knew from day one when Sonia Gandhiji and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced his candidature.This is the first time in the history of the country that from the day of the announcement, we knew he is  going to win," Gehlot said. Meanwhile, PA Sangma met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday morning.

Pranab is set to be the 13th person to be the President of India, but will be the 14th President since Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected twice.

12 noon: Even before the President poll result could be, celebrations started at Pranab Mukherjee's village  Birbhum in West Bengal. People were singing, dancing and celebrating. They are confident that Pranab will
be the 14th President of India. People with boxes of sweets were seen standing outside Pranab Mukherjee's  residence in Delhi too. Some people were even carrying flowers to congratulate Pranab. While many people gathered  outside Pranab Mukherjee's house in the national capital, not many people could be seen outside PA Sangma's  daughter Agatha Sangma's residence.

11:10 am: UPA Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee's Secretary Pradyut Guha said that Pranab was waiting eagerly for the result, but it was a normal day for him.  "No job is tough for Pranab Mukherjee. He has accepted all jobs which he had been given. It is a normal day for Pranab, he is waiting eagerly for the results," Guha said.

11 am: The counting of votes for the Presidential election began in Room number 63 of Parliament. Six groups have been formed for the counting of votes. UPA Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee looks set to be the 14th President of India.

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The six groups are:

Group 1: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Nagaland, Tripura and Parliament

Group 2: Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand

Group 3: Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh

Group 4: Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Rajasthan, West Bengal

Group 5: Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Delhi

Group 6: Goa, Karnataka, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry

The counting of votes began amidst tight security in the presence of both Pranab and BJP's Presidential nominee PA Sangma.

The ballot boxes of votes cast in Parliament House were taken up first for counting after which those from the states will be opened.

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With Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee falling in line, it's almost certain now that UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee will be the 13th President. Other than all the UPA allies, parties such as SP and BSP as well as the Left are supporting the former Finance Minister.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will meet Pranab Mukherjee after 2 pm to congratulate him.

Pranab will be the 13th person to be the President of India, but will be the 14th President since Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected twice.

Congress-led UPA has claimed Pranab Mukherjee will win around 70% of the votes in the direct contest with PA Sangma, the former Lok Sabha Speaker who is backed by some opposition parties.

As per the norm, the ballot boxes from the states have been brought to the national capital for the counting.

The polling percentage has been less than expected this time with only 72% of the total votes - valued at 11 lakh - polled. Of the total votes polled - estimated to be around 8 lakh - Pranab is expecting around 5.6 lakh votes.

As of now, only the vote of Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has been declared invalid by the Election Commission on the ground that he violated the code of secrecy by revealing his vote. Yadav had initially voted for Sangma and then torn the ballot paper when he realised his mistake.

Kanu Kalsaria, BJP MLA from Mahuva in Gujarat, voted for Pranab and openly declared that he did so as he is unhappy with the functioning of the Narendra Modi government.

At least 72% of MPs and MLAs across the country voted to elect a new President. As many as 4,120 MLAs and 776 MPs with a total vote value of 10.98 lakh votes were eligible to cast their ballot in the election. As per information received from 22 states, 2937 MLAs and 40 MPs had cast their votes.

The new President will be administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of India on July 25.

Presidential election: The process

The President of India is elected by an electoral college comprising MPs and MLAs.

- 776 MPs, all except nominated ones, cast their vote.

- 4120 MLAs cast their vote.

- 708 votes is the value of each MP's vote.

- Meanwhile, the value of an MLA's vote is variable. It depends on the population of the state the MLA represents.

Pranab vs Sangma: How the numbers stack up

Support for Pranab: UPA (+TMC) + RJD + SP + BSP + JDS + CPM + FB + NDA allies (Shiv Sena and JDU) = 66.7%

Support for Sangma: BJP + SAD + JMM + BJD + AIADMK = 30.3%

Undecided parties: TDP + others = 3%