PresidentialElections2017: Puneites react to Ram Nath Kovind’s win

July 21, 2017

On Thursday, Ram Nath Kovind was elected as the 14^th President of India. He defeated his opposing candidate and former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar by garnering more than 65 per cent of the votes. Succeeding Pranab Mukherjee as the President, the 71-year old earlier served as the Governor of Bihar. He is the first member from the BJP to be elected to the post.

A few Puneites spoke to Pune365 and gave their views on the verdict of this year’s Presidential Elections.

Aditya Mahajan, 22, student

It’s a great moment in India’s political history with Ram Nath Kovind being appointed as the President. I think his social attachment with the Indian people at the grassroot level would prove vital in his role in taking India ahead in times to come. His added advantage of being a down-to-earth and low-profile person will help him to do his work silently.

Shrinivas Pathak, 38, advertising professional

For the first time, there has been so much noise for a presidential election. When BJP won the Uttar Pradesh elections, it was already assumed that they would sweep the presidential elections too. It was shocking to notice that L K Advani was not the preferred candidate for this post. It seems that the opposition hasn’t learnt much from their loss in UP.

Kunal Mehta, 25, student

I had never heard of Ram Nath Kovind before the elections. He just suddenly became President! But it wouldn’t make any difference to me even if Meira Kumar won.

Kiran Ware, 34, designing professional

To make themselves more powerful, the BJP put up a candidate like Ram Nath Kovind. We don’t too much about him and his work. K R Narayanan was also a Dalit but at that time, his caste wasn’t mentioned as much as Kovind’s. President is the President and his or her caste, creed or religion doesn’t matter. The President is committed to upholding the Indian Constitution.

Samira Kumar, 24, writer

Ram Nath Kovind’s win means that now BJP has the most power ruling at the prime ministerial and now at the presidential level. I’m not sure what this could mean for the country. But this certainly means that the BJP has a stronger hold on 2019. On the other hand, Meira Kumar may not have been a strong force as the President either.

The Vice-President is yet to be decided as the elections for it will take place on August 5.