New Delhi: President-elect Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday took oath as the 14th President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in a glittering ceremony.

Chief Justice JS Khehar swore in the new President at a ceremonial function where PM Narendra Modi, outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari were also present on the stage.

Ram Nath Kovind addressing the gathering at Central as President of India, "I am accepting this position with all humility and I am grateful for this responsibility. I feel privileged to walk on the same path as Dr. Radhakrishnan, Dr. Abdul Kalam and Pranab da".

"My journey from a small village to President's House has been long but interesting. A nation grows only when development for all is ensured. We are all one and will always remain one," he said to applause.

Before the ceremony, Kovind visited Rajghat where he paid tribute to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.



After the event the new president and Pranab Mukherjee will proceed towards Rashtrapati Bhavan where the outgoing President will give Kovind a tour of the official residence.

Following which, the new president will proceed towards his new residence - 10, Rajaji Marg.

Kovind, a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee last Thursday won the presidential elections by defeating Opposition candidate Meira Kumar.

After final round of counting, Kovind got 7,02,044 votes out of a total of 10,69,358 while his opponent and former Lok Sabha speaker Kumar secured 3,67,314 votes.

A lawyer by profession, Kovind has worked extensively in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Kovind has been the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Scheduled Caste Morcha chief (1998-2002) and the President of the All-India Koli Samaj. He also served as the national spokesperson of the party. The saffron party had even tired to project him as an alternative to Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh.

He was enrolled as an advocate in 1971 with the Bar Council of Delhi. He became the Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court in 1978 and practised in Delhi High Court and Supreme Court for about 16 years till 1993.

He was appointed as the Governor of Bihar on August 8, 2015. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh during the two terms of 1994-2000 and 2000-2006.

Kovind served as member of the board of management of the BR Ambedkar University, Lucknow. He also served as member of board of governors of Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.

Kovind also represented India in United Nations (New York) and addressed the UN General Assembly in October, 2002.