BJP leaders, ministers congratulate Ram Nath Kovind

Union ministers and senior BJP leaders today congratulated President-elect Ram Nath Kovind on his victory with an overwhelming majority of votes from the country's lawmakers.
BJP president Amit Shah and Union ministers J P Nadda, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ananth Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan and Harsh Vardhan and former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa greeted Kovind at his temporary residence at 10 Akbar Road.
NDA candidate Kovind defeated the opposition's Meira Kumar, a former Lok Sabha speaker, garnering more than 65 per cent of the votes in the electoral college.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani also congratulated Kovind and said his rich experience in public life will enrich the president's office.

"Shri Ram Nath Kovind ji's rich experience in public life will enrich the office of President of India," Irani said in a tweet.
M Venkaiah Naidu, who resigned as I&B and Housing and Urban Affairs Minister after he was named as the NDA's vice presidential candidate, said Kovind's rise to the highest office of the country from humble beginnings "speaks for the success of our democracy".

"My long association of working with Kovindji tells me that he will prove to be an ideal president," he added.
Harsh Vardhan said the fact that over 65 per cent of legislators voted for Kovind is testimony to the respect he commands.

"This is what makes us different from dynasty parties - in 20 years two grassroot karyakartas rise to become PM and President of the country.
"Many MPs/MLAs from even non-NDA parties voted in favour of Shri #RamNathKovind. Opposition stands breached, some will have sleepless nights," Vardhan posted on Twitter.
BJP spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao said it was a "victory of the positive politics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."
"While we chose a candidate to send out a message of meritocracy and empowerment of the underprivileged, Congress made a tactical blunder by not extending support to Kovind," he said.
Rao said the opposition parties made Kumar a "scapegoat" and "insulted her" by fielding her despite knowing the numbers were not in her favour.

He said Kumar represented the dynastic culture of the Congress while Kovind showed BJP's commitment to marginalised groups.
The Congress stood for "fake" slogans of Dalit empowerment as it did not field a Dalit when its candidate won the presidential elections in 2007 and 2012, he said.
"Our commitment to elect a president from marginalised groups is genuine," he said.
"Both prime minister and president are occupying the highest offices in the country. Both have spotless political career and come from underprivileged background.
"So, today's win will also send a signal to all people as to what they can attain. This is our party's vision compared to Congress patronage of dynasty politics," he said.