Ram Nath Kovind Elected as the 14th President of India

Ram Nath Kovind has been elected as the 14th  President of the country. He won the Presidential contest beating Meira Kumar of the Opposition. Kovind, the former Governor of Bihar, has served as a BJP MP in the Rajya Sabha as well.

The NDA's candidate for President, Ram Nath Kovind, will become India's 14th President, having obtained 65.65 percent of votes from the electoral college.

His opponent, the joint Opposition candidate Meira Kumar, lags far behind with a mere 34.35 percent.

"Kovind secured 2930 votes with a value of 7,02,044. Meira Kumar got 1,844 votes with the value of 3,67,314, and 77 votes were invalid," said Anoop Mishra, the returning officer for the Presidential election 2017.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lavished praise on Kovind.

"Gladdened by the extensive support for Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji among MPs & across various states," said the PM. He also spoke of his long association with the President-elect.


Kovind got the votes of 522 Members of Parliament while Kumar bagged the votes of 225 MPs. As many 771 elected MPs were eligible to cast their ballot.


BJP president Amit Shah called Kovind's win "historic".


"Congratulations to Shri Ram Nath Kovind ji for emphatic victory in the 2017 Presidential elections. His victory is truly historic," Shah said.


Source: Indian Express