On Monday (July 18), Odisha Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim flouted party directives and voted for BJP’s Presidential nominee Draupadi Murmu.
The development was confirmed by Moquim after casting his vote for the Presidential election. While speaking to ANI, he said, “I am a Congress MLA but I have voted for NDA’s Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu.”
“It’s my personal decision as I’ve listened to my heart which guided me to do something for the soil and that’s why voted for her,” he emphasised.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Sarat Pattanayak has stated that the matter will be taken up with the party high command and appropriate action will be taken against Mohammed Moquim. It is notable here that Congress has only 9 MLAs and only 1 MP in the state. Moquim is the MLA from Barabati-Cuttack constituency.
Speaking to media, Moquim told that he voted for Murmu because she is from Odisha and as an Odia, his conscience told him to support her.
Last month, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had appealed to State MLAs, across party lines, to vote in favour of Draupadi Murmu.
In a tweet, he said, “Appeal all the members of Odisha Legislative Assembly, cutting across party lines, to extend unanimous support to elect the daughter of Odisha – Smt Draupadi Murmu to the country’s highest office.”
On June 15 this year, the Election Commission announced the date for the election of the 15th President of India. As per rules, the election was held before the expiry of the term of the incumbent President.
Given that President Ram Nath Kovind will vacate his office on July 24, the Election Commission had fixed the date of the election on July 18, 2022. The Opposition has declared Yashwant Sinha as their Presidential candidate while the BJP-led NDA has fielded tribal leader Draupadi Murmu, the former governor of Jharkhand.
The votes for the Presidential election will be counted on July 21 this year.