Former MLA Rakesh Kalia returns to Congress after a brief stint in BJP
He joined the BJP in 2022 after being denied a Congress ticket to contest the Assembly elections from Gagret in Himachal Pradesh.
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Ram Nath Kovind became the 14th President of India, comfortably defeating Opposition’s candidate Meira Kumar.
Kovind bagged 65.65% votes and will succeed Pranab Mukherjee whose presidential term will end on 25 July.
Kovind becomes the second Dalit to occupy the office after KR Narayanan, who was at the Rashtrapati Bhavan from 1997 to 2002. He will take oath as President on 25 July.
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The presidential poll on Monday saw nearly 99 per cent voting, the highest ever, according to the returning officer.
Kovind had been leading since beginning over his rival UPA candidate Meira Kumar during the counting on Thursday.
Counting began at 11 am with the ballot box of Parliament House being opened first, followed by ballot boxes received from states in alphabetical order.
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