Ram Nath Kovind, the presidential candidate proposed by the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, won 66 per cent of the votes cast by an electoral college of Ministers of Parliament and state lawmakers, defeating the opposition’s candidate Meira Kumar, and will be the next President of India. He will be sworn in as President on July 25. The President holds a largely ceremonial, head of state position in India, with virtually all executive powers residing with the Prime Minister.
Born on October 1, 1945, Kovind is an attorney by training and a native of the Kanpur area (where the India Expert Gunjan Bagla was also born) and has a long standing political career. He resigned as Governor of the state of Bihar to participate in the presidential elections. He served as the chairman of the Senate (Rajya Sabha) Committee. Kovind also represented India in the United Nations.
Kovind’s career as a lawyer spanned 16 years. He was a Federal Government attorney in the Delhi High Court from 1977 to 1979 and a Federal Government Standing Counsel in India’s highest court, the Supreme Court, from 1980 to 1993. He served as member on the board of management of the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Lucknow, and was a member of the board of governors of the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.
