Ram Nath Kovind to be India’s next president -Governance Now

Ram Nath Kovind to be India’s next president

Kovind comfortably defeated UPA nominee Meira Kumar in the presidential election

GN Bureau | July 20, 2017

#Ram Nath Kovind #Narendra Modi #Meira Kumar #president #election #NDA #UPA #Nitish Kumar

(Photo: governor.bih.nic.in)

India’s 14th president is going to be former Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind, a dalit. He triumphed over former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar in the vote count that took place on Thursday.

Kovind succeeds Pranab Mukherjee, who demits office on July 25. He becomes the second dalit president after KR Narayanan.

Read: The long road from Paraukh village

The presidential poll saw nearly 99 per cent voting on Monday. Ballotting took place simultaneously at the Parliament House, 29 state assemblies and two union territories with assemblies.

The president is elected by an electoral college that comprises all MPs and MLAs. The electoral college has 10,98,903 votes. A candidate needs over 50 percent votes to win the poll. A total of 4,895 voters -- 4,120 MLAs and 776 elected MPs -- were eligible to vote. Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra did not cast his vote as he was disqualified over the allegations of "paid news".

Ram Nath Kovind, 71, is a farmer's son and had humble origins. He is lawyer and has served two terms as a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Read: Not above caste, but about it

After filing his nomination papers, Kovind had said: “I will always try and it is also my belief that the president’s post should be above politics.”

“Since the time I became governor, I am no longer part of a political group,” he had assured.

Meira Kumar, who was pitted against Kovind, said before the vote count began: "We have fought a principled fight... we are fighting for values that most people of the country believe in."

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) had extended support to Kovind, breaking away from the opposition ranks.

Kovind’s victory seemed to have been a foregone conclusion, so much so that prime minister Narenda Modi on Sunday, a day ahead of voting, expressed confidence in his victory. He was quoted as saying that the “way ahead was clear” and he would be delighted to work with Kovind.

Comments

Other News

Here’s an I.D.E.A. for career growth and success

Success in today’s professional organisation is no longer solely determined by academic qualifications, technical expertise or years of experience. While these attributes do matter, organisations increasingly value individuals who demonstrate the right mindset and behavioural qualities. The ability

PM interacts with CEOs, founders of space startups

Prime minister Narendra Modi interacted with CEOs and Founders of 20 Space Startups at Seva Teerth on Friday. CEOs of leading companies in the space sector working in diverse fields ranging from building rockets and reusable semi-cryogenic launch vehicles, avionics, satelli

From one cow to a dairy business

In 2012, Anita Dash wasn`t dreaming of building a dairy brand. She wasn`t studying business models or planning market expansion. Like countless mothers across India, her focus was on something much simpler: giving her children a better future. At the time, her most valuable

Ethanol blending: The two sides of a story

India`s crude oil consumption is estimated to be around 88.5% imported from abroad. This one single figure is also responsible for why ethanol has become both an economic strategy and fuel policy at the same time. In an economy like India, which depends so heavily on foreign oil, any increase in internat

Food inflation: Not a macroeconomic statistic but a developmental indicator

India`s retail inflation shows a reassuring picture at first glance. According to the latest data, Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation edged up to 4.38% in June 2026 from 3.93% in May 2026, but continued to remain within the Reserve Bank of India`s (RBI) target band of 4% (+/- 2%). However, beneath this

Skin in the game or masterful market timing?

When a company founder opens their personal chequebook to buy shares in their own business, stock markets usually applaud. To the average retail investor, it feels like the ultimate vote of confidence, a sign that the people running the show have real skin in the game and believe brighter days are ahead.