6:36 PM Here is the official announcement of the Presidential Election result from the Election Commission of India
6:23 PM What might make Ram Nath Kovind tick as the President of India, writes Shekhar Gupta
6:20 PM WATCH: President-elect Kovind's fecilitation in New Delhi
5:59 PM Narendra Modi congratulates Ram Nath Kovind on his victory
5:33 PM Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also congratulated Ram Nath Kovind over phone for his victory
5:32 PM
5:21 PM Ram Nath Kovind's brother celebrates this victory in Madhya Pradesh's Guna at the house of President-elect
5:20 PM
5:16 PM Calling his certained victory an 'emotional moment', the President-elect said:
5:10 PM Meanwhile, both Kovind and Kumar congratulated each other for their endeavours.
Meira Kumar said:
5:02 PM However, the PM did not forget to express his gratitude to the Opposition's candidate Meira Kumar. Here are some his tweets:
4:58 PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes a trip down the memory lane by sharing a picture with the President-elect that was taken 20 years ago
4:53 PM
Here are some pictures of BJP workers celebrating in Mumbai
4:52 PM
4:50 PM Ram Nath Kovind secured 2,930 votes with value of 7,02,044; Meira Kumar got 1,844 votes with the value of 3,67,314; 77 invalid: Anoop Mishra
4:48 PM Amit Shah says: "Congratulations to Shri Ram Nath Kovind ji for emphatic victory in the 2017 Presidential elections. His victory is truly historic."
4:39 PM The 72-year-old is the second Indian President to come from the Dalit community. K R Narayanan was the first. Kovind will assume office on July 26.
4:36 PM Click here to know all about your next to-be President
4:29 PM Kovind, who has one son and a daughter, has also served on the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Management.
4:29 PM Kovind was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1994 and inducted in the BJP’s national executive in 1997. His second Rajya Sabha term was from 2000 to 2006.
4:29 PM He was the general secretary of the All India Koli Samaj from 1971 to 1975, and the Union government advocate in the Delhi High Court in two stints – from 1977 to 1979 and from 1982 to 1984. He had also been the general secretary of the Depressed Classes Legal Aid Bureau.
4:28 PM Born in village Paraunkh in the Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh on October 1, 1945, Kovind earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree, followed by an LLB, from Kanpur’s BNSD Intercollege and DAV College.
4:27 PM Kovind had been a member of the Rajya Sabha for 12 years and part of several parliamentary panels.
4:26 PM An advocate by profession, Kovind practised law in both High Court and the Supreme Court. He was made the Governor of Bihar in 2015, after the NDA took office at the Centre in May the previous year.
4:20 PM Meira Kumar bagged 34 per cent (1,844) votes
4:11 PM Ram Nath Kovind elected as the 14th President of India. Secures 65.65 per cent votes.
4:08 PM
Last phase of counting underway: Ram Nath Kovind crosses halfway mark
4:05 PM Kanpur Dehat: People offer prayers for Kovind in anticipation of his win
3:56 PM The next president of India will be sworn-in by the Chief Justice of India J S Khehar in the Central Hall of the Parliament.
3:45 PM As per the locals, Kovind has always been a down-to-earth person and has been visiting their village on regular intervals. They consider the bond to between him and the villagers to be tight and close.
3:42 PM The villagers are even performing 'havan' and holding prayers for Kovind at various places.
3:40 PM
Celebrations in Kovind's village Paraunkh have already started. People are dancing, singing and are preparing sweets to mark the day, referring the day as the proud moment for their region.
3:37 PM "We are confident that he will become the next President of India. There is no doubt about it. We are very happy about it and the entire village is celebrating at this moment. There is no word to express how happy we are feeling right now," Anil Kumar, one of the relatives of Kovind, told ANI.
3:19 PM
With electoral college votes worth 4,79,585 in value in his favour, so far, Kovind leads Opposition candidate Meira Kumar by 2,75,000 points after counting was completed in Parliament House and 11 states.
Kumar, for her part, has got electoral college votes worth 2,04,594 points so far.
The value of an MP's vote is 708, while that of an Assembly member varies from state to state depending on the size of its population.
The total value of votes of the presidential electoral college is 10,98,903.
3:08 PM The states where the counting has finished include Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
3:06 PM
Do you know why the ballot boxes are known as ‘Mr Ballot Box’?
This is because the boxes, which reached the parliament two days ago, are sent to Delhi via plane through a senior security official. The official, who is trusted to maintain the secrecy travels in Business Class compartment along with the box, reported ABP Live.
Here comes the catch: The ballot box has a seat reserved for itself next to the official carrying it. Therefore, as it is not transported as a cargo, it is known as ‘Mr Ballot Box.’
2:51 PM Number of invalid votes: 21
2:51 PM Total votes in Meira Kumar's favour is 225 in value of 1,59,300
2:51 PM Total votes polled in favour of Ram Nath Kovind is 522 in value of 3,69,576
2:45 PM In Bihar, it was a close fight with Kovind getting 22,490 and Meira Kumar 18,867.
2:44 PM According to Lok Sabha Secretary General Anoop Mishra, the Returning Officer for the July 20 election, Kovind secured 60,683 value of votes after ballots from four states - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Bihar - were counted.
2:28 PM I am not upset, why should I be upset? I am a fighter, I fought for the belief and faith of majority of my countrymen and women, says Meira Kumar who has not flared better than Kovind.
2:26 PM In Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim, the Opposition's nominee receieved 0 votes, meanwhile, the NDA's canditate got 27,666 and 210 votes in the respective states.
2:23 PM States where Ram Nath Kovind trumped over Meira Kumar: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim
2:23 PM
States where Meira Kumar bagged more votes than Kovind: West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, New Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Puducherry
2:09 PM Counting began at 11 am with the ballot box of Parliament House being opened first, followed by ballot boxes received from states in alphabetical order.
2:08 PM
A formal announcement of the winner is expected by 5 pm. The voting took place on Monday.
2:08 PM Kovind is expected to win the presidential race given that the BJP and its allies have a majority in electoral college comprising Members of Parliament and members of legislative assemblies and councils of all states.
1:59 PM
Total votes counted till now: 5,46,876
Ram Nath Kovind bagged 3,24,775
Meria kumar: 2,22,101
1:40 PM NDA's Ram Nath Kovind leading with 60,683 votes, UPA's Meira Kumar at 22,941.
1:29 PM People at Kanpur village of NDA's presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind celebrate and offer prayers in anticipation of his win.
1:29 PM
1:10 PM However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already congratulated Ram Nath Kovind on 17 July.
1:08 PM White total strength of the electoral college is 10,98,903 votes, the contesting candidates require about 5,49,452 votes (50 per cent) of the votes to win.
12:59 PM Meira Kumar says: "I have fought this elections with faith, belief and confidence in the ideology. I also believe in inner voice of conscience."
12:54 PM While the votes are being counted, let's take a look at how Twitter is reaction to the 2017 Presidential Polls:
Today cong is being like GEN Candidate who is fighting with a reserved candidate!!!
12:43 PM MLCs of states with legislative council are not part of the electoral college.
12:39 PM Some of the counting agents from the opposition are Deepinder Singh Hooda, Gaurav Gogoi, BK Hariprasad and Nadimul Haque.
12:26 PM In the 2012 Presidential Elections, Pranab Mukherjee had defeated P A Sangma with over 69 per cent votes.
12:15 PM The counting of votes will be held under the supervision of Anoop Mishra, Lok Sabha secretary general.
12:10 PM Irrespective of who wins the presidential election race, India will be getting its second Dalit President, K R Narayanan being the first.
12:02 PM The ballot boxes received from the states would be counted in an alphabetical order.
11:56 AM Suresh Angadi, Ganesh Singh & Gajendra Shekhawat are counting agents of BJP.
11:52 AM India's 14th president will take oath on 25 July
11:48 AM Take a look at this infographic to understand the President's constituency
11:44 AM Here is a breakdown of the division of votes:
11:24 AM Meira Kumar says, "Great belief in ideology I fought for, also believe in inner voice of conscience lets see how much it prevails."
11:21 AM Result will be declared by 5 pm
11:20 AM There will be eight rounds of counting, held on four tables and announcements will be made after every round.
11:11 AM Here are the visuals of counting of votes:
11:07 AM Counting of votes for Presidential election 2017 has begun.
11:05 AM Kovind’s sister-in-law Vidyavati has been fasting since 19 July for his victory. She is the wife of Shiv Balak, Kovind’s brother.
11:03 AM Ram Nath Kovind is set to win the election by a 70 per cent margin
11:02 AM Ballot boxes from 29 state capitals and the union territory of Puducherry have reached Parliament House amid tight security.
11:01 AM Both Ram Nath Kovind and Meira Kumar are from the Dalit community and have canvassed hard by visiting states to seek support of legislators.
10:58 AM The candidate who secures at least one vote more than 50 per cent of the total votes will enter into the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
10:56 AM President Pranab Mukherjee will demit the office on July 25.
10:51 AM The only point of interest, if Kovind wins, is the margin of his victory, and whether some MLAs or MPs of the 17 Opposition parties supporting the candidature of Meira Kumar have also voted for him.
10:49 AM BJP expects cross-voting would increase victory margin in Kovind's favour
10:46 AM If elected, Ram Nath Kovind will be only the second Indian President coming from the Dalit community. K R Narayanan was the first.
10:45 AM But who is Ram Nath Kovind, the 72-year-old, who emerged as the dark horse? Click here to find out
10:38 AM The lowest percentage of 86.67 per cent in the Monday voting was registered by Meghalaya
10:35 AM The states with 100 per cent polling are — Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tripura, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Nagaland and Uttarakhand, apart from the Union Territory of Puducherry.
10:34 AM Sixteen states and a union territory registered 100 per cent polling in the presidential election
10:24 AM Presidential polls result today: Counting from 11 am, result out by 5 pm. Click here for more details
12:37 AM
12:36 AM Incumbent Pranab Mukherjee's term as the President of India ends on July 25, 2017 -- that is 5 days after the Presidential election 2017 result
12:35 AM The final result of the Presidential election 2017 is expected to be out by 5 pm today
12:34 AM The Opposition parties' candidate for the President's post is former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar
12:34 AM The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had fielded former Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind as its Presidential candidate
12:33 AM This traslates into 99.49% of all legilslators eligible to cast their votes -- the highest voting percentage in India's Presidential elections so far
12:32 AM On Monday, a total of 4,851 members of Parliament and legislative Assemblies (MPs and MLAs) cast their vote to elect the next President of India
12:31 AM The counting of votes cast in the Presidential election 2017, held on July 17, will begin at 11 am today (July 20)
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