BJP-led NDA's presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind registered an emphatic win over his rival and Opposition candidate Meira Kumar. Succeeding Pranab Mukherjee, Kovind will be sworn in as the 14th president of India on July 25.
About
Born on October 1, 1945, in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur Dehat, Ram Nath Kovind was a lawyer by profession. He practised as an advocate for the Central Government at Delhi High Court from 1977 to 1979. He was a permanent advocate for the Centre at the Supreme Court between 1980 and 1993.Career
Advocate
After graduating in law from a Kanpur college, Kovind went to Delhi to prepare for the civil services examination. He passed this exam on his third attempt, but he did not join as he was selected for an allied service instead of IAS and thus started practising law.
Kovind enrolled as an advocate in 1971 with the bar council of Delhi. He was Central Government Advocate in the Delhi High Court from 1977 to 1979. Between 1977 & 1978, he also served as the personal assistant of Prime Minister of India Morarji Desai. In 1978, he became an advocate-on-record of the Supreme Court of India and served as a Central Government standing counsel in the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India from 1980 to 1993. He practised in the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court until 1993. As an advocate he provided free legal aid to weaker sections of society, women and the poor under the Free Legal Aid Society in New Delhi.
BJP member
He joined the BJP in 1991. He was the BJP's SC cell president from 1998 to 2002. He was also BJP's national spokesperson and President of the All-India Koli Samaj. He donated his ancestral home in Derapur to the RSS. Soon after joining the BJP, he contested for Ghatampur assembly constituency, but lost and later contested for Bhognipur(in 2007) (both in Uttar Pradesh) assembly constituency on the BJP ticket but lost again.
In 1997, Kovind joined the protest against certain orders from the Central government that had adverse effects on the SC/ST workers. Later 3 amendments were made to the Constitution that revoked the orders, by the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Rajya Sabha
He was elected and became a Rajya Sabha MP from the state of Uttar Pradesh in April 1994. He served a total of twelve years, two consecutive terms, until March 2006. As a member of parliament, he served on the Parliamentary Committee for Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Home Affairs, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Social Justice and Empowerment, Law and Justice. He also served as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha House Committee. During his career as a parliamentarian, under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme, he focused on education in rural areas by helping in the construction of school buildings in Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand. As a member of parliament, he visited Thailand, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom and the United States on study tours.
Governor
On 8 August 2015, the President of India appointed Kovind as Governor of Bihar. On 16 August 2015, the acting Chief Justice of Patna High Court, Iqbal Ahmad Ansari, administered the oath to Kovind as the 35th Governor of Bihar. The function took place at Raj Bhawan, Patna.
Kovind's appointment was criticised by then Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar as it came months before State Assembly elections and the appointment made without consulting State Government as recommended by Sarkaria Commission. However, Kovind's term as Governor was praised for constituting a judicial commission to investigate irregularities in a promotion of undeserving teachers, Mis-management of funds and appointment of undeserving candidates in universities. In June 2017, when Kovind was announced as a candidate for Presidential election, Nitish Kumar backed Kovind's choice and praised Kovind as being unbiased and working closely with the State Government during his Governorship.
Other appointments
He has served on the Board of management of Dr B.R Ambedkar University, Lucknow, and as on the Board of Governors of IIM Calcutta.
Kovind represented India at United Nations in New York and addressed the General Assembly in October 2002.
