Published: 05:19 PM, 20 July 2017
Ram Nath Kovind wins Indian Presidential election
Close to 99 per cent voting was recorded for electing India's next president.
NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind was on Thursday elected the 14th President of India, defeating opposition nominee Meira Kumar.
Kovind convincingly defeated opposition's Meira Kumar, a former Lok Sabha speaker, winning more than 65 percent of the votes in the Electoral College, the Returning Officer for the poll announced on Thursday.
Flowers and extra security had arrived at the former Bihar governor's home in Delhi long before the official announcement and sweets were passed around at his hometown in Uttar Pradesh. Mr Kovind, 71, will be sworn in on July 25.
Close to 99 per cent voting was recorded for electing India's next president.
Thirty two polling stations, including the one in Parliament house, have been set up in various 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 the state he or she belongs to, the value of an MP's vote remains the same at 708.
The numbers are stacked in favour of the ruling coalition's nominee Kovind, a former Bihar governor, over the opposition's candidate and former Lok Sabha Speaker Kumar.
