Presidential poll: 50 per cent voting recorded in Goa

Nearly 50 per cent of the state's 38 legislators and four members of Parliament have cast their ballot to elect the country's 14th President at the assembly complex here on Monday, a poll official said.

Voting began at 10 a.m., and will end at 5 p.m.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was one of the first elected legislators to cast his vote.

Parrikar, a former Defence Minister, continues to be member of the Rajya Sabha and is not yet elected to the state legislative assembly.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led ruling NDA's candidate Ram Nath Kovind was in Goa on Saturday when he met all elected members of the ruling alliance at a South Goa resort.

Union Minister for Roads, Highways, Transport and Shipping Nitin Gadkari, who accompanied Kovind, said that the former Bihar Governor would manage to garner around 70 per cent of the votes in the state.

If elected, 71-year-old Kovind will be the second Dalit to become President after K.R. Narayanan, who was the 10th President.

--IANS

maya/vt