PM Modi congratulates Tharman Shanmugaratnam on winning Singapore's Presidential elections

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated Tharman Shanmugaratnam on his election as president of Singapore. He said on X, "I look forward to working closely with you to further strengthen the India-Singapore Strategic Partnership.

Tharman scored a landslide victory in the presidential election held on Friday.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong congratulates Tharman

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, an Indian-origin Singapore-born economist, won Singapore's presidential election on Friday, defeating two other Chinese-origin contenders in the country's first contested presidential polls since 2011.

Shanmugaratnam, 66, who served as Singapore’s Deputy prime minister from 2011 to 2019, got 70.4 per cent votes while his rivals Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian bagged 15.7 per cent and 13.88 per cent respectively, the Elections Department spokesman said.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong congratulated Tharman on winning the presidential election.

"Singaporeans have chosen Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam to be our next president by a decisive margin. As head of state, he will represent us at home and abroad, and exercise custodial powers, including over the reserves and key appointments," he said.

"I thank the three candidates for putting themselves forward in this presidential election. I am happy that Singaporeans have been able to exercise the right to vote for our next president, and to focus on what the elected president is about. In this election, both voters and candidates have shown a greater understanding of the roles and duties of the president, which bodes well for Singapore," Lee said.

The 66-year-old Singaporean economist, who is of Indian origin economist, will be Singapore's ninth president. He won the election with a vote share of 70.4 per cent.