A lawyer by profession, a Hindutva ideologue by thinking, a dedicated BJP worker by political affiliation and a Dalit leader by caste - Ramnath Kovind is the NDA's consensus candidate for the post of India's President.
BJP President Amit Shah announced the name of Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind as NDA's consensus candidate for the post of Indian President on Monday.
Kovind belongs to the Dalit community Koli and had worked extensively in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and also has the backing of BJP's ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. A lawyer by profession, Kovind had also been BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha chief (1998-2002) and President of the All-India Koli Samaj.
He hails from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Kovind is being credited of grooming several leaders for the BJP and the RSS.
He also served as national spokesperson of the party. Bharatiya Janta Party even tired to project him as an alternative to Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh. On 8th of August 2015, the President of India appointed him the Governor of Bihar. He was elected to Rajya Sabha from state of Uttar Pradesh during the two terms of 1994-2000 and 2000-2006.
Kovind served as member of the board of management of BR Ambedkar University, Lucknow. He also served as member of board of governors of Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.
Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind is known for his proximity with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, but has also been a hard core supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetization drive that eliminates black money and corruption in the society.
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"Demonetisation is a positive effort in the direction to free the society of black money and corruption," the Governor had said at the annual function of Bihar Chamber and Commerce.
A lawyer by profession, Kovind was enrolled as an advocate in 1971 with the Bar Council of Delhi. He became the Advocate-on-Record of the Supreme Court in 1978 and practised in Delhi High Court and Supreme Court for about 16 years till 1993.
Kovind also represented India in United Nations (New York) and addressed the UN General Assembly in October, 2002.