Presidential Election 2017: Devendra Fadnavis, jailed NCP MLA Chhagan Bhujbal cast vote

Mumbai: Jailed NCP MLAs Chhagan Bhujbal and Ramesh Kadam were among the Maharashtra MLAs who cast their votes in the presidential election. The voting for the presidential election started at the Vidhan Bhawan in south Mumbai at 10 am and ended at 5 pm, a Vidhan Bhawan official said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar were among the early voters. [caption id=“attachment_3794073” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. PTI[/caption] Bhujbal reached the Vidhan Bhawan in an ambulance. Of the 288 eligible voters, 287 cast their votes, the official said. Bajuhan Vikas Aghadi MLA Kshitij Thakur did not cast his vote as he was away, the official said. The two jailed NCP MLAs were able to cast their votes in the presidential election on permissions from various courts. A special PMLA court recently granted Bhujbal permission to vote in the election. The Bombay High Court had on Friday allowed NCP MLA Ramesh Kadam, arrested for his alleged involvement in a corruption case, to vote in the election. Kadam was arrested in August 2015 in a case of alleged siphoning off of over Rs 141 crore from the state-run Annabhau Sathe Development Corporation. NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind was in Mumbai on Saturday to seek support of MLAs and MPs. The opposition’s candidate, Meira Kumar, had visited Mumbai last month to launch her campaign for the top constitutional post. The eligible voters from Maharashtra also included 48 Lok Sabha MPs and 19 Rajya Sabha members from the state, who cast their votes in Delhi, where the Parliament session began on Monday. The only exception was MP Sanjay Kakade. The Rajya Sabha member voted at the Vidhan Bhawan in Mumbai.