Ram Nath Kovind, the ruling NDA coalition's candidate, may have won the presidential election comfortably, but his vote share is the lowest since 1974, figures reveal.
Kovind received 2,930 votes with a value of 7,02,044, while his rival Meira Kumar, the joint opposition candidate, secured 1,844 votes with a value of 3,67,314.
Overall, Kovind led in 21 states, and also in both houses of Parliament, while Kumar gained a head-start in the remaining eight states.
The Dismal Numbers
Across states, Opposition's presidential nominee Meira Kumar did not get a single vote in Andhra Pradesh, while the victorious NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind polled just one in Kerala. The Congress does not have presence in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly.
Kumar got one vote in Nagaland and three in Arunachal Pradesh. He also polled just one vote in Kerala and six in Delhi, where AAP has an overwhelming majority.
In Nagaland, Kovind received 56 votes as against one to Kumar. The result was lopsided in Kovind's favour in Sikkim, too. He garnered 28 votes vis-à-vis one of Kumar.
Kovind's BJP Bastions
In the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh, which has the highest value of votes for the election, Kovind received 335 votes (having value 69,680) against Kumar's 65 (valuing 13,520).
Kovind bagged all the 171 valid votes (of 27,189 value) polled in the TDP-BJP combine ruled Andhra Pradesh.
In Maharashtra, which carries second highest value of votes at 50,225, Kovind got 208 of the total 285 valid votes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state Gujarat also gave fillip to Kovind, who won 132 votes (valuing 19404), restricting Kumar at 49.
Bihar, where the ruling JD(U) supported Kovind by breaking ranks with its grand alliance partners, the RJD and the Congress during the election, also proffered the NDA nominee edge over Kumar.
Of the total 239 valid votes polled there, Kovind gained 130, whereas Kumar scored 109 votes.
While Kovind’s poll-share amounted to a grand total of 65.65 percent, the victory margin is the lowest since the 1974 presidential poll.
According to Election Commission data, Kovind's immediate predecessor Pranab Mukherjee (2012) secured 69.31 percent votes, while Pratibha Patil (2007) got 65.82 percent of the total votes, marginally higher than the share secured by Kovind.
(With inputs from PTI and IANS)
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