2017 Indian presidential election facts for kids

The 2017 Indian presidential election was a big event in India. It happened on July 17, 2017. The votes were counted a few days later, on July 20, 2017. This election was held to choose the next President. The President is like the head of the country.

The person who was President before, Pranab Mukherjee, decided not to run again. He was getting older and had some health concerns.

Ram Nath Kovind won the election. He got about two-thirds of the votes. These votes came from a special group called the electoral college. This group includes elected members from different parts of the government. Kovind started his five-year term as President on July 25, 2017.

Results of the election:
     Ram Nath Kovind (702,044)      Meira Kumar (367,314)      Non-voting territories

Who Ran for President?

Two main people ran for President in 2017:

• Ram Nath Kovind
  • He was the Governor of Bihar before the election.
  • The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chose him as their candidate.
  • He officially put his name forward on June 23, 2017.

• Meira Kumar
  • She used to be the Speaker of Lok Sabha. This is a very important job in the Indian Parliament.
  • The Indian National Congress (INC) and other opposition parties chose her. They announced her as their candidate on June 22, 2017.

• 

  Indian National Congress
  Former Speaker
  Meira Kumar
  from Bihar

How the President is Chosen

The President of India is chosen by a special group. This group is called the electoral college. It includes:

• Elected members from both houses of the Indian Parliament.
• Elected members from the state assemblies (called Legislative Assemblies) in 29 states.
• Elected members from the assemblies of two Union Territories: Delhi and Puducherry.

Election Results

The votes were counted on July 20, 2017. Ram Nath Kovind was announced as the winner. He became the 14th President of India.

He took his oath of office on July 25, 2017. The Chief Justice of India, Jagdish Singh Khehar, gave him the oath. This ceremony happened at the Parliament House in New Delhi.

Here are the final results:

See also

In Spanish: Elecciones presidenciales de India de 2017 para niños