Pranab is lucky 13th Sweeps Prez Poll With 69% Of Valid Votes

New Delhi: Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee's big win in the presidential election—which makes him the 13th occupant of Rashtrapati Bhavan—marks the return of an active politician at Raisina Hill after three successive occupants who were either past their prime in politics or did not have a political background at all.      Since July 1997, when K R Narayanan became president, the high office has been held by missile man A P J Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil whose careers had peaked, while Mukherjee was a hands-on politician playing a crucial role in UPA affairs.      Unlike his predecessors who were picked as safe choices by the  ruling establishment of the day, Mukherjee sought the job and even bent his party to his will, aided by some ill-timed pressure tactics by Congress ally Mamata Banerjee that yielded unexpected results.      Interestingly, Mukherjee will move to Rashtrapati Bhavan from 13, Talkatora Road, a fact that may interest the numerologically inclined. Those who know Mukherjee say his sense of the Constitution, politics and grasp of governance make him his own man who cannot be taken for granted as President. Mukherjee made the point, saying he would try and fulfill expectations to "defend, preserve and protect" the Constitution.      Mukherjee polled a vote value of 7,13,763 or about 69.3% of the valid votes in the electoral college (or 65% of all votes) — aided by cross-voting from BJP legislators in Karnataka. Opposition nominee, former Speaker P A Sangma, secured a vote value of 3,15,987, handing Mukherjee a handsome margin.      After the result was finally out on Sunday evening, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, accompanied by son Rahul, called on Mukherjee to congratulate him. The presence of Rahul was noted, particularly in the context of his announcement that he was accepting a more active role in Congress affairs.      Soon after, PM Manmohan Singh reached Mukherjee's residence where celebrations were underway since the afternoon when his tally crossed the halfway mark.      Cross-voting by BJP MLAs in Karnataka, where the party is in majority, saw Mukherjee gaining a lead of 117 votes to Sangma's 103. BIGGER MARGIN THAN EXPECTED  UPA candidate Pranab Mukherjee polled 7.14 lakh votes, or nearly 69% of valid electoral college votes, thrashing P A Sangma who got 3.16 lakh Pranab got  more than 7.11 lakh committed votes of UPA and parties like JD(U) & Shiv Sena  Sangma's committed support was around 3.10 lakh votes. He gained from additional votes in states like W Bengal As many as 15 votes cast by MPs were invalid, including nine for Pranab UPA had  expected 535  votes of MPs, got 527. One Oppn MP cross-voted. In all, 81 votes termed invalid In BJP-ruled  Karnataka, Pranab got 117 votes to Sangma's 103. In Jharkhand, vote again showed up divide in NDA Cong sees major success in win      The break in NDA was also evident in Jharkhand where Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supported the UPA candidate on expected lines although two independents voted for Sangma. There were as many as 15 invalid votes cast by MPs, with nine favouring Mukherjee. These would entail a loss of a significant 6,372 votes for the UPA camp. Overall, there were 81 invalid votes and although Sangma suffered due to crossvoting, his tally exceeded the committed opposition vote value by around 5,000.      Congress leaders sought to rub in cross-voting in the opposition ranks while BJP spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad admitted that the Karnataka vote did not reflect the party strength. But he added that the opposition tally was a record with the BJP joining forces with parties such as Naveen Patnaik's BJD and J Jayalalithaa's AIADMK.      The successful election is, however, a major success for Congress that has been grappling with rough weather over a slowing economy and trouble from allies, particularly the Trinamool Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party. After the result, Mukherjee spoke to Mamata Banerjee who agreed to come to Delhi for the swearing-in. In an effort to mend fences, he is understood to have insisted on Banerjee's presence, saying the ceremony would be incomplete without her.      The conclusion of the presidential election and the expected smooth sailing in Vice-President Hamid Ansari's reelection is set to clear the way for some energetic action on the governance front with the PM focusing on some much-needed reform measures. ONE FOR THE ALBUM: (Left to right) The PM's wife Gursharan Kaur, PM Manmohan Singh, LS Speaker Meira Kumar, Mukherjee's wife Suvra, Pranab Mukherjee, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi