India elects Kovind as 14th president

(New Delhi) – Ram Nath Kovind was elected India’s new president. Kovind won the largely ceremonial position with more than 65 per cent of the vote by members of India’s parliament and state assemblies, the election commission said.

The 71-year-old former lawyer and state governor from the marginalised Dalit community was nominated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party for post.

But Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) assembled enough electoral college votes to push through its candidate and the outcome was expected. Kovind is a longtime associate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or National Volunteer Corps.

“Congratulations to Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji on being elected the President of India! Best wishes for a fruitful and inspiring tenure,” Modi wrote on Twitter.