Ram Nath Kovind to be sworn-in as president: A step-by-step account of the upcoming ceremony

NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind was on Thursday elected the 14th President of India  after garnering 65.65 percent of the votes in the Electoral College and defeating Opposition candidate Meira Kumar. Kovind is only the second Dalit to be elected president. He will be sworn-in by the Chief Justice of India JS Khehar in the Central Hall of Parliament on Tuesday, when the term of incumbent Pranab Mukherjee ends. Here is how the entire swearing-in ceremony will take place: 1. Ram Nath Kovind will take oath in the presence of the Chief Justice of India or in his absence, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court. For the swearing-in ceremony, Kovind will first leave for Rashtrapati Bhavan from 10 Akbar Road at 10.15 am. [caption id=“attachment_3838229” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Narendra Modi, Ram Nath Kovind and Amit Shah. PTI[/caption] 2. Kovind would first visit Rajghat in the morning at 10.30 am and from there, he will be escorted by the military secretary to Rashtrapati Bhavan to meet outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee. 3. Mukherjee and Kovind will have a one-on-one discussion on important files and policies related to defence, external affairs and finance. After this, the president-elect and the president will travel in the same car in a ceremonial cavalcade to the Parliament at 12.03 pm. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Vice-President Hamid Ansari will receive the two at the Parliament building where they will be taken to the Central Hall. 4. Members of the council of ministers, governors, chief ministers, heads of diplomatic missions, members of Parliament and principal civil and military officers of the Government of India will assemble in the Central Hall for the ceremony. 5. There, the stage would be shared by both president and president-elect, Lok Sabha speaker, vice-president and Chief Justice of India. The ceremony of assumption of office by Kovind will be held at 12.15 pm in the Central Hall of Parliament House. The CJI will administer oath to the new president. The president-elect will take an oath or affirmation in the following form:  “I, Ram Nath Kovind, do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of President (or discharge the functions of the president) of India and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and that I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of India.” 6. After the president-elect takes the oath of office in the presence of the CJI, a 21-gun salute will be fired, followed by Kovind’s acceptance speech. Mukherjee and Kovind will then exchange seats. 7. The event will be wrapped up by 12.36 pm when the new president and Mukherjee would proceed towards Rashtrapati Bhawan. Thereafter, outgoing president Pranab Mukherjee will give him a tour of the official residence, the Rashtrapati Bhavan. 8. The new president will leave for Rashtrapati Bhavan, where an inter-services guard of honour will be given to him in the forecourt and courtesies will be extended to the outgoing president. After the tour, Kovind will drop off Mukherjee at his new residence, 10, Rajaji Marg. The president shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters the office, according to Article 56 of the Constitution of India. Follow live blog on Ram Nath Kovind’s swearing-in ceremony here