Pratibha takes early lead in polls

The UPA-Left backed candidate sweeps the presidential polls by bagging 423 votes in four states.

Taking an early lead, UPA-Left candidate Pratibha Patil on Saturday swept the presidential polls by bagging 423 votes in four states where counting was completed by 12.30 pm, picking up more than the expected votes in Andhra Pradesh and Assam.

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She bagged 223 votes in Andhra Pradesh, while her NDA-backed independent rival Bhairon Singh Shekhawat got two votes from the BJP.

The value of an MLA's vote differs from state to state.

In Andhra Pradesh, each vote has a value of 148.

In Arunachal Pradesh, where the Congress is in power, Patil bagged 58 votes while Shekhawat got one vote. The value of each MLA's vote in the state is eight.

In Assam, Patil polled 92 votes while Shekhawat got 20. Four votes in this state were declared invalid. The value of an MLA's vote in Assam is 116.

There was cross-voting, apparently by the AGP, in favour of Patil in Congress-ruled Assam, as the UPA-Left was expecting only 86 votes but got 92.

Fifteen of the 24 AGP legislators voted in the poll, defying their party's decision to abstain.

In Delhi, Patil bagged 50 of the 69 votes polled, while Shekhawat got 19 BJP votes. One BJP MLA did not vote. The value of a vote in Delhi is 58.