Ram Nath Kovind is the next President of India

Ram Nath Kovind, the NDA candidate, was elected on Thursday as India’s 14th President receiving an overwhelming majority of votes from the country’s lawmakers.

Kovind defeated Opposition’s Meira Kumar, a former Lok Sabha speaker, garnering more than 65 per cent of the votes in the Electoral College, announced the poll returning officer on Thursday. Kovind will be the first BJP member to be elected President.

The 71-year-old, who will be the second Dalit to hold the top constitutional position, received 2,930 votes with a value of 7,02,044, said Anoop Mishra, the returning officer.

Kumar, also a Dalit, polled in 1,844 votes with a value of 3,67,314.

The Electoral College comprises members of Parliament and members of legislative assemblies of all states. A total of 4,896 voters — 4,120 MLAs and 776 elected MPs — were 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 his or her state, the value of an MP’s vote remains the same at 708.

The polling was marked by cross-voting in various states where many Opposition members favoured Kovind.

The Vice-Presidential election will be held on August 5. While BJP has nominated a former party president, Venkaiah Naidu, the Opposition has fielded former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.