The NDA candidate beats Opposition’s Meira Kumar by securing 65.5% of votes; incumbent Pranab Mukherjee’s term as President ends on July 25
Former Bihar Governor and the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA’s) Presidential election candidate Ram Nath Kovind is set succeed incumbent Pranab Mukherjee and become the 14th President of India.
Kovind was in a contest with the Opposition candidate, former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar.
In the presidential election 2017, held on July 17, of the total 4,880 valid voters — 4,109 members of legislative Assemblies (MLAs) and 771 elected members of Parliament (MPs) — 99.49 per cent had cast their vote. Of the total 771 MPs who are entitled to vote, 768, or 99.61 per cent, cast their votes. Likewise, of the 4,109 MLAs entitled to vote, 4,083 or 99.37 per cent cast their votes, officials said.
The counting of votes began at 11 am on Thursday. Kovind secured more than 65 per cent of the votes, against Meira Kumar’s about 35 per cent.
Business Standard, India
