PREZ KOVIND
He is the second dalit who became President, KRN was 1st
Ram Nath Kovind has been India’s 14th President of the Republic of India after he won 65.65 per cent votes in the 15th Presidential election.
He succeeds Pranab Mukherjee, whose Presidential term will end on July 24. Mr Kovind becomes the second Dalit to occupy the office after K.R. Narayanan, who was at the Rashtrapati Bhavan from 1997 to 2002.
He will take oath as President on July 25.
An emotional Kovind said: “I represent the many Kovinds who work hard for their livelihood.”
He added: “I thank all who supported me from across the country. I feel very emotional.”
Mr Kovind thanked and congratulated his rival Meira Kumar. “It is an emotional moment for me today. My election is a symbol of democracy’s greatness,” he said.
The Presidential poll on Monday saw nearly 99 per cent voting, the highest ever, according to returning officer.
Meira Kumar, the joint opposition's candidate, has received 3.67 lakh votes out of 10.69 lakh valid votes polled — the highest votes by a losing candidate.
A lawyer by profession, a Dalit leader by caste, a Hindutva ideologue by thinking and a dedicated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker by political affiliation – Kovind was born on October 1, 1945, at Kanpur Dehat, UP.
Mr Kovind belongs to the Dalit community Koli and had worked extensively in UP and Bihar and also has the backing of BJP’s ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Mr Kovind, a B.Com, LLB from Kanpur University (Uttar Pradesh) has been a successful lawyer. He was the Central Government Advocate in Delhi High Court from 1977 to 1979 and Central Government Standing Counsel in Supreme Court from 1980 to 1993.
He became the Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court of India in 1978. He had practised in Delhi High Court and Supreme Court for about 16 years until 1993. Kovind was enrolled as an advocate in 1971 with the Bar Council of Delhi. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in April 1994 from Uttar Pradesh and served for two consecutive terms for 12 years till March 2006.
The President-elect had also been BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha chief from 1998 to 2002 and President of the All-India Koli Samaj.