Ram Nath Kovind sweeps Presidential poll, gets 66% of total electoral votes

Kovind, will succeed incumbent Pranab Mukherjee.

The Secretary General of Lok Sabha, Anup Mishra, announced that Kovind got 7,02,044 out of 10,69,358 valid votes polled.

The Opposition's candidate Meira Kumar lagged behind and could manage 3,67,314 of the total number of votes polled.

Almost 99 percent voting was recorded on Monday, the highest ever in a Presidential vote.

A total of 4,895 voters -- 4,120 MLAs and 776 elected MPs -- were eligible to cast their ballot.

Kovind became the second Dalit President of India after KR Naryanan. He comes from the state of Uttar Pradesh.

After the win, he addressed media and thanked the lawmakers for voting for him. He said it was an emotional moment for him and he would try to honour the responsibility and the legacy of his scholarly predecessors.

He said never imagined he could be the President of the country and that the rains in Delhi today reminded him of the rains in childhood and his siblings from the humble farming background and how even in today's time many are working rain drenched in various parts of the country.

Congratulating the would be president, prime minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter: "Congratulations to Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji on being elected the President of India! Best wishes for a fruitful & inspiring tenure.

In a follow up tweet, Modi congratulated other candidate for the prez poll Meira Kumar and said: "I also congratulate @meira_kumar Ji for her campaign, which was in spirit of the democratic ethos & values we all are proud of."

Meira Kumar also congratulated the new President but did not forget to remind that he has to steer though a time of challenge, hinting at the BJP's ideology.

"I want to congratulate Shri Kovindji. I extend my good wishes to him as it has fallen upon him to uphold the constitution of India in letter and spirit in the most challenging time," she said. 

Seventyone-year-old Ram Nath Kovind is a farmer’s son.  The former Bihar Governor has also served two terms as a member of the Rajya Sabha. He is also a trained lawyer who has appeared at the High Court and Supreme Court.

The presidential poll turned out to be a battle between two Dalits, Ram Nath Kovind and Meira Kumar.

While Kovind was the Bihar Governor when named as the candidate for the presidential poll, Meira served as the Lok Sabha speaker during UPA regim.

BJP-led NDA's candidate Kovind received support from several other political parties too. JD(U) interestingly lent their support to Kovind for the presidential poll.

Image:   Terapanth, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61196170