Ram Nath Kovind, a Dalit face of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was elected as India's 14th President in July 2017. President Ram Nath Kovind, who turned 74 today, defeated Meira Kumar, the presidential candidate of the Opposition. President Kovind practised law for 16 years before joining politics in 1994. A man of humble origin, Kovind is the second Dalit leader after KR Narayan to occupy the top constitutional post. Prior to this, Kovind served as the Governor of Bihar from 2015 to 2017. On his birthday, LatestLY compiles a list of lesser-known facts about Ram Nath Kovind.

  1. Ram Nath Kovind started his political journey in 1977 when he became the personal secretary of then Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

  2. Kovind joined the BJP in 1991 and headed party's Dalit Morcha from 1998 to 2002.

  3. Kovind was nominated twice as Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh in 1994 and again in 2002.

  4. He twice contested assembly election from Uttar Pradesh but lost.

  5. Kovind represented India in the United Nations in New York and addressed the UN General Assembly in October, 2002.

  6. In 2010, Kovind embroiled in a controversy when it was reported that he said that "Islam and Christianity are alien to the nation".

  7. In 2015, then President Pranab Mukherjee appointed Kovind as Governor of Bihar.

  8. Kovind, who donated his ancestral home in Derapur to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is the first leader from the outfit to occupy the Office of President of India.

  9. His wife's name is Savita Kovind. The couple have a son, Prashant Kumar, and a daughter, Shweta.

Kovind was a member of the Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata. He also served as a member of the Board of Management of B R Ambedkar University, Lucknow. LatestLY wishes President Ram Nath Kovind a very happy birthday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 01, 2019 07:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).