UPA candidate Meira Kumar managed to get only 34.35 percent votes
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee Ram Nath Kovind has won the election for the post of India’s new President on Thursday securing 702,044 Electoral College votes, while UPA candidate Meira Kumar managed to get only 367,314 votes.
The former Bihar governor received 65.6 per cent votes, which is over two-thirds of the total and defeated the former Lok Sabha speaker. The voting had taken place on July 17 and witnessed the highest ever voting as nearly 99 percent lawmakers and legislators voted.
“Congratulations to Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji on being elected the President of India! Best wishes for a fruitful & inspiring tenure,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
Congratulations to Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji on being elected the President of India! Best wishes for a fruitful & inspiring tenure.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 20, 2017
According to media reports, counting of votes started at 11 a.m. in room number 62 of Parliament House with the opening of first ballot box of Parliament House. Ballot boxes from different states were counted in an alphabetical order. The counting was under the supervision of Lok Sabha secretary general Anoop Mishra, who is also the Returning Officer.
Ram Nath Kovind, a former leader of the BJP from Uttar Pradesh, was a Rajya Sabha member from 1994 to 2006. He also served as the President of BJP Dalit Morcha and earlier donated his ancestral home in Derapur to the RSS.
Born in Paraukh village in the Kanpur Dehat district, Kovind holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce and an LLB from Kanpur University’s DAV college.
The 71-year-old Kovind will be the second from the Dalit community to become the President after K R Narayanan. He will be administrated oath by the Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar, to take office as the 14th President of India succeeding President Pranab Mukherjee onJuly 25 at the Parliament’s Central Hall.
Rajyasabha member and veteran BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu is the BJP’s Vice Presidential candidate and the elections will be held on August 5.