Thursday's Presidential election is likely to see a record of sorts with over 50 lawmakers opting to cast their votes outside Delhi and some legislators preferring to exercise their franchise at the Parliament House polling station.
At least two MPs undergoing imprisonment in Tihar Jail, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav and Babubhai Katara, will be voting in Parliament House, Lok Sabha sources said.
The Delhi high court had on Tuesday permitted the controversial RJD MP to cast his vote in the Presidential election saying he can be taken to Parliament House polling station only for two hours anytime between 10 am and 5 pm on the polling day. Yadav is accused of murdering a Communist leader.
Katara, who is serving a prison term for his alleged involvement in a human trafficking case, too will be allowed to cast his vote in Parliament House as there is no provision of postal ballot or having a polling station in the jail.
Sources said that another RJD MP Mohd Sahabuddin and JMM MP Sibu Soren might vote in Patna and Ranchi respectively.
Most of the 50 MPs belong to Shiv Sena and they have expressed their desire to vote in Mumbai. Shiv Sena broke ranks with its ally BJP and decided to vote for UPA-Left nominee Pratibha Patil on the ground that a Maharashtrian was tipped to hold one of the highest posts in the country.
Nearly half a dozen MLAs, mostly from Punjab, have sought permission to cast their ballots on New Delhi for different reasons.
