New Delhi: UPA presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee has been elected as the next President of India.
Mr Mukherjee, a veteran of the ruling Congress Party, was elected by members of the national and state parliaments.
The position is largely ceremonial but he could help determine who forms the next government after elections in 2014 if there is no clear winner.
Mr Mukherjee’s term runs for five years. He replaces Pratibha Patil, who was India’s first woman president.
UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee got the overwhelming support of Parliamentarians in the President’s election securing a vote value of 3,73,116.
Mr. Mukherjee’s rival P.A. Sangma, supported by some opposition parties including BJP, managed to get a vote value of only 1,45,848 in the counting of votes which is in progress at Parliament House, official sources said.
A total of 748 MPs voted in the election on July 19. Of the total votes, Mr. Mukherjee got 527 votes while Sangma got 206.
Fifteen votes including that of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav were invalid.
He is the 13th president of India.
 The new President will be administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of India on July 25 at 11:30 am.
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