Brisk voting in Prez poll

Presidential poll, around 600 MPs cast their ballots by 1230 hours here today.

About 600 lawmakers have voted within the first two-and- a-half hours of the polling that began at 10 AM, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla said.

As many as 699 MPs and eight MLAs were expected to exercise their franchise in Parliament House. 77 MPs had got permission to vote in the state capitals.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and UPA Presidential nominee Pranab Mukherjee were among those who cast their ballots.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also joined the trio in exercising his franchise in the election where a clear favourite Mukherjee is pitted against P A Sangma sponsored by the BJP and some other opposition parties.

Among the early voters were Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati and NCP President and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.