Kovind likely to sail through in Tamil Nadu

With the stage set for Monday’s Presidential election, NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind is expected to get the support of more than 130 MLAs of the total 233 in Tamil Nadu.

As the Opposition DMK and its ally Congress — which is supporting UPA candidate and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar — has only 98 legislators, Kovind is expected to sail through easily.

The two warring factions of the ruling AIADMK, which have extended their support to Kovind, have a total of 134 MLAs. As per the population census, each MLA in Tamil Nadu has about 176 votes.

Going by the equations, Kovind will get at least 23,500 votes in Tamil Nadu, while his rival Meira is expected to settle for a little over 17,000 votes. Ailing DMK president M Karunanidhi is not likely to cast his vote.

On the parliamentarian side, of the total 39 MPs, 37 are from the AIADMK and one each from the BJP and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK).

The PMK has decided to boycott the polls. The party had earlier stated that it would consider supporting Kovind if the Centre promised to set up the Cauvery Management Board within a month as per the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award.

As the stage is all set for the polls, ballot boxes are kept ready and poll observer Anshu Prakash, who has landed in the city, has been supervising the arrangements.