Ram Nath Kovind elected India's 14th President: As it happened

Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to Shri Ram Nath Kovind on being elected as the 14th President of India, says outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee.

Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to Shri Ram Nath Kovind on being elected as the 14th President of India #PresidentMukherjee

— President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) July 20, 2017

Meira Kumar tweets:

I congratulate Sh. Ram Nath Kovindji for becoming the President of India. 1/2

— Meira Kumar (@meira_kumar) July 20, 2017

My best wishes are with Sh. Kovindji as it has fallen upon him to uphold the Constitution in letter & spirit in these challenging times. 2/2

— Meira Kumar (@meira_kumar) July 20, 2017

I want to thank all the members of the collegium, Smt Sonia Gandhiji & leaders of all the political parties who have supported me. 1/2

— Meira Kumar (@meira_kumar) July 20, 2017

My fight for secularism, the oppressed & the marginalised continues.I thank all my well wishers for their support & good wishes.

— Meira Kumar (@meira_kumar) July 20, 2017

Now, NDA ministers, BJP leaders and others are congratulating and felicitating the President-elect.

Also Read - The states where Meira Kumar got more votes than Ram Nath Kovind

 

PM Modi meets President-elect Ram Nath Kovind at 10 Akbar Road, felicitates him.

PM is accompanied by Ananth Kumar and BJP chief Amit Shah. 

Congratulations, hope he will be a successful P resident and will work for marginalised and poor people, says senior BJP leader MM Joshi on Ram Nath Kovind.

After securing a massive victory in the Presidential election, Kovind addresses the media says, "It's is an emotional moment for me."

"My fight for secularism, the oppressed and the marginalised continues," says Kovind.

The President elect thanked his rival Meira Kumar.

Also Read - 'Privilege to know you': PM Narendra Modi Tweets to Ram Nath Kovind

Odisha Chief Minister and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik congratulates Ram Nath Kovind on being elected President of India.

"We look forward to work under his leadership at @RashtrapatiBhvn", Patnaik tweets.

PM Narendra Modi congratulates Ram Nath Kovind on being elected the President of India.

"Congratulations to Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji on being elected the President of India! Best wishes for a fruitful & inspiring tenure," the PM tweets.

Gladdened by the extensive support for Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji among MPs & across various states. I thank members of the electoral college.

The Prime Minister also congratulated Meira Kumar. He said, "I also congratulate @meira_kumar Ji for her campaign, which was in spirit of the democratic ethos & values we all are proud of.

Ram Nath Kovind garnered 65.65 percent of votes, which translates to 7,02,644 votes.

Meira Kumar managed to bag 34.35 percent votes, which amounts to 1,67,314 votes.

NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind wins the Presidential election. He will become the 14th President of India.

As Kovind establishes a massive lead over rival Meira Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulates the NDA's Presidential candidate.

"Congratulations to Ram Nath Kovind Ji, who will be our next President," Banerjee tweets.

 

Votes of both the Houses and 11 states counted.

NDA candidate Kovind gets 1,389 votes with value of 479,585; while Kumar gets 576 votes with value of 20,4594 after counting in Parliament House and 11 states.

Also Read - Ram Nath Kovind vs Meira Kumar: Here is how states voted in Presidential Election 2017

Meira Kumar puts on a brave face despite losing the first round to Kovind.

"I am not upset, why should I be upset? I am a fighter," Kumar says.

First round of vote count in the Presidential election ends. While NDA's candidate Ram Nath Kovind is leading with 60,683 votes, Meira Kumar has managed to bag 22,941 votes.

Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Bihar were covered in the first round.

Meira Kumar secured no vote from Andhra against Kovind's 27,189 value of votes. In Arunachal Pradesh, Kovind secured 448 and Meira Kumar 24. 

Kovind bagged 10,556 from Assam against Meira Kumar's 4,060. In Bihar, it was a close fight with Kovind getting 22,490 and Meira Kumar 18,867.

Counting of votes underway - Some pictures from the Parliament 

Also Read: Rashtrapati Bhavan - The official residence of the President of India: Some interesting facts

Opposition’s presidential nominee Meira Kumar speaks to media, says "I believe in the ideology I've fought for and I believe in the voice of conscience. Let us see how much it prevails."

Responding to a poser on how she views this fight, the former Lok sabha speaker said the people in this country have certain values and they have kept those as their base for these elections.

Supporters of Kovind gather outside his residence in New Delhi.

Massive crowd gathers outside Kovind’s ancestral house in Paraunkh in Uttar Pradesh.

Counting of votes for Presidential Poll 2017 begins in Parliament.

Meira Kumar - Here are some quick facts about Opposition presidential pick

-Kumar was born in 1945 in Patna, Bihar. 

-She holds an MA and LLB degrees along with an advanced diploma in Spanish.

-Meira, like Kovind, belongs to the scheduled caste. 

-She is the daughter of former deputy prime minister late Jagjivan Ram, a Dalit leader.

-In 1973, Kumar joined the Indian Foreign Service. 

-She has also worked at High Commission of India in London and with the Ministry of External Affairs during 19980-1985.

-In 1985, she was elected to the Lok Sabha.

-Kumar was the first woman Speaker of Lok Sabha and a five time Lok Sabha Member of Parliament. 

-She served as the Speaker from 2009 to 2014.

-Kumar, a member of Congress, has also served as a Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment from 2004-2009.

-Besides politics, Kumar actively works for social reforms and human rights.

-She is married to Manjul Kumar, a lawyer, and has four children.

About Ram Nath Kovind

Ram Nath Kovind, was born on October 1, 1945 at Kanpur Dehat, Uttar Pradesh.

Career as an Advocate - Kovind, was a 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 Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court of India in 1978. Had practiced in Delhi High Court and Supreme Court for about 16 years till 1993. He was enrolled as an Advocate in 1971 with the Bar Council of Delhi.

Career as a Parliamentarian - He was elected and became a Rajya Sabha MP in April 1994 from Uttar Pradesh and served for two consecutive terms for 12 years until March 2006. Shri Kovind served as Member on following important Parliamentary Committees:-

-Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Tribes.

-Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs.

-Parliamentary Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas.

-Parliamentary Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment.

-Parliamentary Committee on Law and Justice.

-Chairman of Rajya Sabha House Committee.

Ram Nath Kovind is married to Smt Savita Kovind. He has a son Prashant Kumar who is married and a daughter.

Also Read - Ram Nath Kovind vs Meira Kumar: All you need to about 2017 Presidential election

Counting of votes to begin at 11 am.

The counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 11 and the results are expected to be declared at around 5 pm.

First, the ballot box of Parliament House would be opened, and then, the ballot boxes received from states would be counted on an alphabetical basis.

The seals of ballot boxes will be opened on Thursday in the presence of representatives of the two candidates -- former Bihar Governor Kovind and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar -- and the observers of the Election Commission.

Close to 99 percent voting was recorded on July 17 for electing India's next president.

Thirty two polling stations including the one in Parliament house, were set up in various states.

A total of 4,896 voters -- 4,120 MLAs and 776 elected MPs -- are eligible to cast their ballot. MLCs of states with legislative council are not part of the electoral college.

While the value of an MLA's vote depends on the population of the state he or she belongs to, the value of an MP's vote remains the same at 708.

In the electoral arithmetic, Kovind has a distinct advantage over his rival as parties like the Janata Dal-United and the Biju Janata Dal, otherewise not allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party, had decided to vote for him.