India became a republic way back in 1950 and since then, the country has had 13 Presidents and 14 Prime Ministers. The President of India has a tenure of exactly 5 years – he takes office after he completes the oath and leaves office exactly 5 years after he was sworn in as President.
Today (20th July 2017) is an important day in Indian history as the country will see it’s 14th President being elected. The two candidates to become the next President are Ram Nath Kovind from the NDA Party (National Democratic Alliance) and Meira Kumar, UPA’s nominee (United Progressive Alliance).
However, the counting has already begun as of 11am on 20th July and Ram Nath Kovind is a heavy favourite to win the 2017 Indian Presidential Election. Kovind was the 35th Governor of Bihar and held office there between August 2015 and June 2017.
If he wins (which he most probably will), Kovind will become the second Dalit President of India, after Kocheril Raman Narayanan, the 10th President of India. The winner will take over from Pranab Mukherjee, the 13th President of India, who holds office until 24th July 2017.
The numbers are in favour of NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind and he will most probably be elected as the new President. The swearing in ceremony will then take place on the day after Pranab Mukherjee’s term ends.
Given our country’s political structure, it’s very hard to get to the highest position earlier in life and hence our candidates are both in their seventies, with both Ram Nath Kovind and Meira Kuma being born in 1945, and our current President being 81 years old at the moment. Not sure if that’s a good thing.
Today at 5pm, the result will be declared and and we will know the name of the next occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhavan – will it be the heavy favourite? Or will India get its second woman President? Stay tuned to find out, as we at Read Scoops are covering the entire story.
