Presidency of Ram Nath Kovind

Ram Nath Kovind
Presidency of Ram Nath Kovind
25 July 2017 – 25 July 2022
PartyBharatiya Janata Party
Election2017 Indian presidential election
SeatRashtrapati Bhawan

Emblem of India

The presidency of Ram Nath Kovind began on 25 July 2017, when he took the oath as the fourteenth president of India administered by Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar. Kovind was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee and defeated the Indian National Congress (Congress)-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) nominee and former speaker of Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar. Prior to being the presidential nominee, he was the governor of Bihar and a member of parliament in Rajya Sabha. Kovind secured approximately two-thirds of the electoral college vote of the elected members of the federal, state and union territory legislatures.

During his presidency, he has undertaken state visits to 28 countries. He has received the highest state honors from six countries, Madagascar, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Croatia, Bolivia and the Republic of Guinea.[1] Just a few weeks after starting his presidency, Venkaiah Naidu, the BJP candidate for vice president won the 2017 Indian vice presidential election; President Kovind administered the oath of the office.[2] In 2019, he administered the oath of office to Narendra Modi upon his re-election.[3] He has held the office during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. He is the first leader from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to occupy the office of president of India.[4]

He appointed Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi, Sharad Arvind Bobde and N. V. Ramana as chief justice of the Supreme Court, and other judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

  1. ^ "The President of India". presidentofindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  2. ^ Vishwa Mohan (5 August 2017). "Venkaiah Naidu: NDA candidate Venkaiah Naidu wins vice presidential election with 516 votes | India News". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  3. ^ "India election results 2019: Narendra Modi secures landslide win". BBC News. 23 May 2019. Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  4. ^ IANS (20 July 2017). "Kovind elected President, first leader with RSS background to occupy Rashtrapati Bhavan (Roundup)". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2021.