JOURNEY FROM MUD HOUSE TO RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN

In the fourth week of May, Ram Nath Kovind was called to New Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 71-yearold assumed that the meeting had something to do with his gubernatorial assignment in Bihar but was surprised to be told that he was one of the nine names being considered for the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA’s) presidential candidate.

Unlike some of the other nominees, Kovind’s name was not discussed in the media. Even his closest friends and relatives had no idea that Kovind could succeed Pranab Mukherjee as India’s President, until Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah announced the Dalit leader’s candidature following the party’s parliamentary board meeting on June 19.

Kovind’s ability to keep a low profile was not the only reason that Modi and Shah handpicked him. By making Kovind, a Dalit from Uttar Pradesh, the BJP-led NDA’s presidential nominee, Modi and Shah took the Opposition by surprise, which was forced to recalibrate its strategy to name Congress leader Meira Kumar, daughter of Dalit icon Jagjivan Ram, as its nominee.

But the damage was already done to Opposition unity. Kovind’s candidature led to a split in the Opposition, with the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United), Naveen Patnaik’s Biju Janata Dal, and several other regional parties announcing they would vote for the NDA candidate.

If the move caused hiccups in the JD (U)-Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress ‘grand alliance’ in Bihar, it also contributed to Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati quitting her Rajya Sabha membership. Ever since performing miserably in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Mayawati has been in search for a cause that could help her reclaim her party's Dalit support base. The choice of Kovind has strengthened BJP’s newfound support among nonJatav Dalits.

On Thursday, the result after the counting of votes was on expected lines. Kovind received 65.65 per cent of the electoral college votes. Congress leaders claimed Kumar’s were the second-highest number of votes that a runner-up had ever received in the 13 previous presidential elections. But there was some embarrassment for the Congress, with some of its legislators in Gujarat having voted not for Kumar but Kovind. There were instances of cross-voting in favour of Kovind in some other states, too.

Kovind would take the oath of office on July 25. He is only the second Dalit, after KR Narayanan (1997-2002), who would become India’s head of state.

After the result’s announcement, an emotional Kovind reminisced about his journey from a mudwalled house in Paraunkh, his ancestral village in Kanpur Dehat, to become the 14th President of India.

He said he never aspired to be the president, and that “tireless service” to his society and country had brought him to this position.

The President-elect said: “It is raining a lot in Delhi today and it reminds me of days when I would stay in my paternal village. It was a 'kachcha' home of mud walls. The straw roof would not be able to stop water during rains. We all brothers and sisters would huddle around a wall, waiting for the rains to stop.

“There would be so many Ram Nath Kovinds in the country today, getting drenched in rains, doing farm work, labour and sweating it out so that they can get their evening meals. I want to tell them that this Ram Nath Kovind of Paraunkh village is going to Rashtrapati Bhavan as their representative.”

With Kovind’s election, and M Venkaiah Naidu set to be the vice-president, it will be for the first time in 70 years that the two constitutional heads as well as the head of government, the prime minister, will be associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Kovind is also the first BJP member to be elected the president of India.

Kovind has been a twoterm Rajya Sabha member (1994-2000 and 2000-2006). He has also been a BJP spokesperson and the head of its Dalit Morcha. Months before the Bihar Assembly polls in October 2015, Kovind was made the Bihar governor. He has been a lawyer and associated with RSS’ Dalit outreach for over 40 years. He has also served as a member on the board of management of Ambedkar University, Lucknow, and was a member of the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.

Kovind is married and has a son and a daughter. His wife, Savita, had accompanied him during his electionrelated campaign across India over the past one month.

“IT IS RAINING A LOT IN DELHI TODAY AND IT REMINDS ME OF DAYS WHEN I WOULD STAY IN MY PATERNAL VILLAGE. IT WAS A KACHCHA HOME OF MUD WALLS... WE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS WOULD HUDDLE AROUND A WALL, WAITING FOR THE RAINS TO STOP. THERE WOULD BE SO MANY RAM NATH KOVINDS IN THE COUNTRY TODAY...I WANT TO TELL THEM THAT THIS RAM NATH KOVIND OF PARAUNKH VILLAGE IS GOING TO RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN AS THEIR REPRESENTATIVE” “A PRESIDENT NEVER BELONGS TO ANY PARTY. ALL PEOPLE IRRESPECTIVE OF CASTE, CREED AND RELIGION, STATE ARE EQUAL. VOTE BANK IS NOT IMPORTANT FOR ME BUT DEVELOPMENT MATTERS” “I FEEL VERY EMOTIONAL TODAY AND I WILL REPRESENT ALL THOSE STRUGGLING TO MAKE A LIVING. I NEVER ASPIRED TO BE THE PRESIDENT; MY WIN IS A MESSAGE TO THOSE DISCHARGING THEIR DUTIES WITH INTEGRITY” RAM NATH KOVIND after being elected President on July 20