India's BJP-backed candidate Kovind wins presidential election

NEW DELHI - 20 July 2017: Ram Nath Kovind, a candidate backed by India's ruling coalition, won the presidential election on Thursday, tightening the governing alliance's hold over positions of power.

Votes from 4,896 lawmakers in state assemblies and parliament were counted in parliament to elect the constitutional head, a largely ceremonial post.

"Kovind has secured a clear majority," an election official told Reuters.

Kovind, 71, a low-caste Dalit politician with Hindu nationalist roots, beat Meira Kumar, also a Dalit, backed by the centrist Congress party.