It’s been seen as one of the most fascinating presidential contests, with no clear name emerging as the obvious front-runner in the race for Rashtrapati Bhavan. But while the politicians slug it out ahead of the July presidential elections, the people appear to have made their voices heard loud and clear: they want President APJ Abdul Kalam to be given a second term. That’s the major finding of the Ibnlive.com poll done in association with The Indian Express and Loksatta, with more than 3.4 lakh citizens logging on to cast their vote over the last fortnight, one of the largest exercises of its kind on the web.

The poll was carried out to find out what the public mood was like on who should be the next Rashtrapati. With the UPA, and now even the NDA, reluctant to back Kalam for a second term, the chances of the scientist-turned-President have almost completely receded. But among the aam aadmi, the president has clearly struck a chord. President Kalam got more than 1,46,000 votes out of the 3.4 lakh votes cast in the web poll, over 43 per cent. His closest contender was the Vice-President and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat who polled 100,712 votes, less than 30 per cent.

The vote for Kalam was summarised by Ajit Kamath from Bangalore, who said, “President Kalam is above politics. He is the kind of person who inspires us to work harder and to believe that you can be honest and make a mark in public life.”

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