Ram Nath Kovind (Hindi: Rāma Nātha Kovinda pronounced [ɾɑmɐ nɑt̪ʰɐ koʋɪnd̪ɐ]ⓘ ; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2017 to 2022.

[4] Kovind was born to Maiku Lal and Kalawati in a Koli family during the British Raj on 1 October 1945, in Paraunkh village in the Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh,[5][6] as the youngest of five brothers and two sisters.

[15] He holds a bachelor's degree in commerce and an LLB from DAV College (affiliated with Kanpur University).

[16][17][18] After graduating in law from DAV College, Kanpur, Kovind went to Delhi to prepare for the civil services examination.

He passed this exam on his third attempt, He scored high enough to work in an allied service rather than in IAS and thus started practising law.

][21][failed verification] He donated his ancestral home in Paraunkh to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Later, three amendments were made to the Constitution that revoked the orders, by the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

[20] In June 2017, when he was announced as a candidate for presidential election, Nitish Kumar backed his choice and praised him as being unbiased and working closely with the state government during his governorship.

In September 2023, the Government of India formed an 8-member committee chaired by Kovind to suggest changes to the constitution for simultaneous polls in the country.

The primary objective of this committee, is to examine and propose specific amendments to the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and any other relevant laws and regulations to enable simultaneous elections.

[36][37] As reported by IANS and published by Hindustan Times, he made this comment in response to the Ranganath Misra Commission which recommended 15 per cent reservation for religious and linguistic minorities in government jobs.

[38] Although more recently, the issue was raised in the media if whether or not he was misquoted and that he in fact said "Islam and Christianity are alien to the notion (of caste)" as opposed to what was reported as 'nation'.