Active Stocks
Tue Mar 19 2024 13:11:02
  1. Tata Consultancy Services share price
  2. 4,014.70 -3.14%
  1. Tata Steel share price
  2. 150.15 0.37%
  1. Bharti Airtel share price
  2. 1,229.45 0.36%
  1. Power Grid Corporation Of India share price
  2. 261.00 -1.51%
  1. ITC share price
  2. 409.85 -1.81%
Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Ram Nath Kovind’s vote share lowest for presidential election winner since 1974
BackBack

Ram Nath Kovind’s vote share lowest for presidential election winner since 1974

Ram Nath Kovind may have won the presidential election, but his vote share is the lowest since 1974, according to Election Commission data

Ram Nath Kovind polled 7,02,044 votes out of 10,90,300 in the Electoral College, while his rival Meira Kumar, the joint opposition candidate, secured 3,67,314 votes. Photo: PTIPremium
Ram Nath Kovind polled 7,02,044 votes out of 10,90,300 in the Electoral College, while his rival Meira Kumar, the joint opposition candidate, secured 3,67,314 votes. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Ram Nath Kovind, the ruling NDA coalition’s candidate, may have won the presidential election comfortably, but his vote share is the lowest since 1974, figures reveal.

Kovind polled 7,02,044 votes out of 10,90,300 in the Electoral College, while his rival Meira Kumar, the joint opposition candidate, secured 3,67,314 votes. This comes to a vote share of 65.65% for the president-elect.

However, the victory margin is the lowest since the 1974 presidential poll. According to Election Commission data, Kovind’s immediate predecessor Pranab Mukherjee (2012) secured 69.31% votes while Pratibha Patil (2007) got 65.82% of the total votes, marginally higher than the share secured by Kovid.

In the 2012 polls, out of 10,29,750 votes, Mukherjee bagged 7,13,763 votes, while in 2007, Patil bagged 6,38,116 of the total 9,69,422 votes polled. K.R. Narayanan (1997) and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (2002) bagged 94.97% and 89.57% respectively, the highest victory percentages since 1974.

Only Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, in 1977, was elected unopposed to the top constitutional post. Gyani Zail Singh (1982) got 72.73% votes, while R. Venkatraman (1987) bagged 72.28%. Shankar Dayal Sharma (1992) got 65.87%.

Besides Narayanan, only two presidents—Rajendra Prasad (98.99%) in 1957, and Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan (98.24%) in 1962—secured over 90% of the votes. In the first presidential election, Prasad bagged 83.81 votes.

New President Ram Nath Kovind is a stickler for the rule book

The lowest margin of victory for any presidential poll was during the 1969 election when then president V.V. Girri secured just 48%of the total votes. The low percentage is often attributed to a so-called ‘syndicate’ within the Congress. Fifteen candidates were the in the fray in this poll, the highest in any presidential election. Girri’s predecessor Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed bagged 56.23%votes in 1967.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Catch all the Politics News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
More Less
Published: 20 Jul 2017, 09:46 PM IST
Next Story footLogo
Recommended For You
Switch to the Mint app for fast and personalized news - Get App