Presidential Election 2017: All Andhra Pradesh MLAs exercise their franchise; two votes likely to be invalid

Amaravati: All the 175 MLAs in Andhra Pradesh exercised their franchise in the presidential election on Monday.The polling took place smoothly at the committee hall in the Andhra Pradesh legislature building at Velagapudi. [caption id=“attachment_3823597” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Assembly speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao were the first to cast their votes.The four BJP MLAs also cast their votes along with their ally. Leader of Opposition and YSR Congress president YS Jaganmohan Reddy led his party MLAs for the voting.However, two of the votes were likely to become invalid since two TDP legislators reportedly wrote their names on the ballot paper. This came to light after the polling when the chief minister held a meeting with his MLAs, according to TDP sources. The MP from Narsaraopet, Rayapati Sambasiva Rao, also cast his vote in the Assembly by obtaining special permission from the Election Commission because of personal reasons. All the 175 MLAs in the AP Assembly, including those of the lone opposition YSRC, pledged their support to the NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind. The Congress has four members in Rajya Sabha and none in Lok Sabha and the state Assembly.