New Delhi: NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind was yesterday elected as the 14th President of India after receiving an overwhelming majority of votes from the country’s lawmakers. Kovind defeated Opposition candidate Meira Kumar, a former Lok Sabha Speaker after garnering 66 percent of the votes in the Electoral College, Returning Officer Anoop Mishra announced.
The 71-year-old, who will be the second Dalit to hold the top Constitutional position after K.R. Narayanan, received 2,930 votes with a value of 7,02,044. Kovind will be the first BJP member to be elected President. He will be sworn-in by the Chief Justice of India J.S.Khehar in the Central Hall of Parliament on July 25.
