PM, Sonia to visit Pranab residence to congratulate him

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi are to visit the house of president-elect Pranab Mukherjee to congratulate him on his victory.

Mukherjee, the UPA presidential candidate, was declared winner after he crossed the halfway mark with 558,000 votes to secure his journey to Rashtrapati Bhavan.

His rival, former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma, was way behind with 239,966 votes as counting continued,

Vote counting is expected to end at around 7 p.m.

The president-elect stays in 13, Talkatora Road.