71-year-old Kovind secured 2930 votes with a vote value of 7,02,044, Lok Sabha Secretary General Anoop Mishra, the Returning Officer for the Presidential Election, announced here. PTI file photo
Ram Nath Kovind was on Thursday elected as the 14th President of India becoming the first BJP leader and one with RSS background to occupy the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Backed by 40 political parties, Kovind, 71, defeated the joint opposition candidate Meira Kumar in a straight fight by polling 65.65% votes with a vote value of 7,02,044. Kumar got the balance 34.35% votes with a value of 3,67,314.
Kovind will be sworn in as the 14th President of India on July 25 at a ceremony in Parliament. Chief Justice of India J S Khehar will administer the oath of office to Kovind.
Kovind received overwhelming support from across the country with his poll managers claiming to have secured 116 more votes than they had anticipated.
Of the total 4896 lawmakers eligible to cast their votes, 4851 exercised their franchise. Of these, Kovind polled 2930 votes against 1844 garnered by Kumar. As many as 77 votes were found to be invalid.
Kovind will be the second Dalit leader to occupy the top constitutional post after K R Narayanan.
The presidential election was seen as a battle of index for opposition unity as 18 parties had joined hands to take on the BJP-led NDA. It also brought out the faultlines in the opposition ranks as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar broke ranks to vote in favour of Kovind.
Amid claims of cross-voting by the BJP, Congress leaders asserted that the opposition unity forged for the presidential election had stayed intact and Kumar had in fact polled more votes than expected in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.
An analysis of the result showed that Kovind had benefited by cross-voting by Congress MLAs in Gujarat, Goa and Chhatisgarh. Kovind also managed to get more votes than anticipated in several states including Maharashtra, Tripura, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam.
“I never aspired to be the President. My win is a message to those discharging their duties with integrity. My election as the President is an evidence of the greatness of Indian democracy" an emotional Kovind told reporters shortly after the election results were declared.
“My best wishes to Kovindji. It has fallen upon him to uphold the Constitution in letter and spirit in these challenging times,” Meira Kumar said.
Congratulations poured in from across the country with President Pranab Mukherjee being among the first to extend best wishes to Kovind on being elected as his successor.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi drove the Kovind's residence on 10, Akbar Road to greet him on his election.
“Congratulations to Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji on being elected the President of India! Best wishes for a fruitful & inspiring tenure,” Modi said.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi also congratulated the President-elect. “The President of India enjoys a unique position as defender and protector of the Constitution, upholder of democratic traditions and as supreme commander of the Indian Armed Forces. The President is the conscience keeper of the Constitution of India,” she said.
The vote shares in each state are as follows:
Andhra Pradesh
Kovind - 27189
Meira - 0
Invalid - 3
Arunachal Pradesh
Kovind - 448
Meira Kumar - 24
Assam
Kovind - 10556
Meira Kumar - 4060
Bihar
Kovind - 22490
Meira Kumar - 18857
Chhattisgarh
Kovind - 6708
Meira Kumar - 4550
Invalid - 3
Goa
Kovind - 500
Meira Kumar - 220
Invalid - 2
Gujarat
Kovind - 19404
Meira Kumar - 7203
Haryana
Kovind - 8176
Meira Kumar - 1792
Invalid - 1
Himachal Pradesh
Kovind - 1530
Meira Kumar - 1887
Jammu and Kashmir
Kovind - 4032
Meira Kumar - 2160
Jharkand
Kovind - 8976
Meira Kumar - 4576
Invalid - 4