Presidential elections: Ram Nath Kovind garners over 65 per cent votes. Here are all the details

NEW DELHI: BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee Ram Nath Kovind, former Bihar Governor, won the Presidential polls today with 65.6 per cent translating into 702,044 electoral college votes. Here is all you need to know about Presidential polls and its counting process.

1. Counting of votes started at 11 am in Room Number 62 on the first floor of the Parliament House with the opening of first ballot box of Parliament House. Ballot boxes received from different states are counted in an alphabetical order.

2. In eight rounds of counting, Kovind received 65.6 per cent votes translating into 702,044 electoral college votes, while UPA candidate Meira Kumar managed to get 34.35 per cent (367,314 votes).


3. According to reports, there was cross voting in UP, Gujarat and Goa during the elections, which resulted into Kovind's massive 2/3rd votes. Counting happened under the supervision of Lok Sabha secretary general Anoop Mishra, who is also the Returning Officer.

4. Ballot boxes are opened in the presence of representatives of the two candidates -- Ram Nath Kovind and Meira Kumar -- and the observers of the Election Commission.

5. In India, President is elected by electoral college. It comprises all members of Parliament and legislative assemblies of all states, as well as of the Union Territories.

6. Total strength of electoral college is 10,98,903 votes. A candidate needs more than 50 per cent votes to win presidential polls. That translates to 5,49,452 votes.

7. NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind, former Bihar governor, is expected to get more than 70 per cent votes over the UPA nominee Meira Kumar, a former Lok Sabha Speaker, as he enjoys support of 40 parties including NDA parites, JD-U, BJD, TRS, different factions of AIADMK, and the YSR Congress. The voting on Monday saw nearly 99 per cent voting.

8. Ram Nath Kovind will be the second Dalit President of India after KR Narayanan.

9. President Pranab Mukherjee's term is ending on July 24 and the India's 14th President will take oath the next day.

10. In the last Presidential polls held in 2012, Pranab Mukherjee had defeated PA Sangma by over 69 per cent votes.

(Inputs from PTI)